Demons of Blood
by DDDDISSSHA
Summary: AU. Three months after the events 'Home of Blood and Heart' Felicity is back in Starling and the team now face a new threat not just to their city but their personal lives as well, old enemies return bringing with them unwanted surprises Part 2 of the "Daughter of the Demon" Series
1. Chapter 1

**Here you are, the first chapter in the second installment of the Daughter of The Demon Series, a sequel to Home of Blood and Heart…**

* * *

The red hooded figure stood tall, his stance wide and imposing, in an alley just outside of the Glades over the figure of a cowering man, arrow notched and ready he watched the man beg him to let him go. The damp and stench riddled surroundings did not affect the red leather clad figure in the slightest, the goon laying on the concrete below though shivered from the cold, his hands dirty and calloused from his life in the street gang he belonged to, his muscle t-shirt clinging to him from the dampness of the atmosphere, he gripped the leather of the man's pants begging for mercy. The covered eyes of the vigilante pitied him and his circumstances but not once sympathizing with his methods, he shook his head at the misfortune of the man laying on the concrete below as he pulled on his bowstring releasing an arrow towards the scared man.

The vigilante watched as the cables released from the arrow wound around the man binding and neutralizing him, his electronic voice echoed around the empty alleyway delivering his message, "You have failed this city."

"I never pegged you for a Re-use and Recycle kinda guy. Huh! Guess I didn't really know you all that well after all." A voice snickered from behind him.

He turned around as a petite woman stepped out of the shadows sauntering towards him. He watched in appreciation as her slim hips clad in tight black leather pants swayed while she walked and the knee length, black leather heeled boots she wore beat out a staccato against the cold concrete, the full sleeved bolero style leather maroon jacket zipped up to her neck over a black t-shirt complimenting her delicate figure beautifully.

"My eyes are up here Hood boy," the girl commented noticing his obvious appreciation of her body.

He moved his eyes up to her face, noticing her brunette hair bouncing around her maroon clad shoulders as she moved, her features indiscernible behind the red and black domino mask adorning her eyes and ending just below her ears. He listened to the sweet lilt of her voice as she left an anonymous tip on nine-one-one still advancing towards him with sure, powerful steps.

Shooting a zip line up towards the concrete column of the rooftop of a nearby building he waited for her to join him before banding his arms around her small waist. Standing over the ledge he released his hold on the woman, jumping over and walking to the middle of the roof he waited for her to join him before he spoke up, "So is there any reason you keep seeking me out or are you just here to play games again?"

"Aren't you impatient…" she said lazily checking her nails before looking up at him in a mock thoughtful expression, "wait I already did know that, in fact it was one of your many vices back when we…" her posture straightened instantaneously, her features turning serious as she continued, "you know, meant something to each other."

"Thea…"

"Roy…"

"What do you want?"  
"To understand."

"To understand what?"

"Everything."

Sighing he pulled the mask off his eyes to rest at his throat as he watched the girl he loved with sad, defeated eyes, "I have told you everything I know…"

"Not everything, Roy," Thea suddenly thundered, her calm demeanor discarded completely, "you think I can't tell when you are hiding something?"

"I told you all I can but there are something's that are not mine to share. And I won't break someone's trust just to get you to understand…"

"But you didn't have any problems in breaking _my_ trust."

"Thea…"

"Thea, Thea, Thea…all you do now is say my name. I used to like that once, loved it but now it's starting to grate on my nerves," Thea interrupted angrily, her voice a low growl.

"Thea you have to understand…"

"Isn't that what I have always done?!" she exclaimed. "I understood." She pointed to herself as she walked towards him, her steps wide and furious, her eyes wet with tears of anger, fury blazing in the brown depths, "I understood when my brother died and came back and refused to talk to me, to share with me, I understood my mother when she ended up in jail for mass murder…I listened to her, I stood by her, I understood even when she told us she had an affair, I understood and understood as people around me lied to me, kept secrets from me every single day about my life, I understood. But I am done understanding now, I am done listening. You need to understand that I won't back down now. I want the truth and this time I will do anything to get it. I will do anything to punish all those people who took my life away from me, and that includes you." she finished, her face now level with his, staring him in the eyes, she continued, "I'm stronger now. Just like I said I would be and I am back but I want what I deserve and I don't deserve treachery."

Looking into her eyes, he felt unsettled to see a stranger staring back at him, it wasn't the same girl he had fallen in love with he saw now. He noticed how different the two were. Where the Thea he had loved was warm, fun and loving the shell of her standing before him now was anything but. This woman held nothing but cold reason in her eyes, and a darkness unlike anything he had seen firsthand.

"Thea," a low voice sounded behind them an angry tint to it, grabbing his attention and breaking his perusal of the brunette. The two occupants broke their standoff to look at the man standing over the ledge of the roof. Roy turned to watch as Thea's eyes widened, not in fear but in realization that she had been caught. She stepped away from Roy her eyes locked on the man standing on the ledge.

"It's time to go," he commanded the girl before him in an electronically distorted voice.

Arsenal watched unmoving as Thea left, somersaulting off to the nearby roof, his mouth dropping in awe as he saw the girl running across it effortlessly, using the pipeline of the structure to descend to the street below. He closed his eyes after he watched her disappear into the darkness of the night, willing for calm to set back in his bones. He sighed knowing calm would be far out of his reach now, after all, he realized, he had work to do, news to deliver.

* * *

The sound of metal hitting flesh reverberated around in the silent night. The bo staff glinting in the moonlight as its owner twirled it after it met her opponents' jaw knocking him off his feet, the sound of the staff swishing and stopping attracting the attention of the fallen man to the leather clad blond woman standing in front of him. Her staff perched over her shoulder she looked down at him admonishing him with her eyes as he stared back disbelievingly, not having expected her to ever come back after her mysterious disappearance a few months back.

But there she stood, her shapely body clad in black leather and her beautiful features hidden behind a domino mask. The woman he had cornered long gone, all that remained on that street were him and the vigilante in front of him, leaving the silence and isolation of his surroundings to feel constricting where it had seemed like an opportunity before.

"Don't look so surprised," the woman smiled haughtily, "I haven't been gone that long."

"I…I.."

"How many times do I have to bust you before you get the message?" She talked walking towards him, her hips swaying as she spun the silver staff lazily, "You don't touch people without their consent, or you will spend the next few years in detention learning the exact same lesson…"

"I..I'm…mm"

"You're what?" she asks leaning over him threateningly, her voice dropping an octave, her eyes blazing in silent anger.

"I am…am s…so..sorry."

"It's cute that that you think that's going to solve anything," she smiled leaning back smacking the end of her staff against the man's temple, knocking him out.

* * *

So about that date that you promised me…" A sweet voice sounded from behind him making his heart soar, instantly warding off the chill that had set in his bones from the cold night and warming him up. Oliver turned, his green hood zipped halfway down, the enclosures on his arms now open, his gloves off at the end of a grueling night, to look at the woman he loved standing before him.

Her dark skinny jeans and form fitting pink tank top under a camel colored leather jacket did little to calm his adrenaline fueled nerves. A smile unwittingly stretched across his lips as his legs carried him across the room before he had even registered the movement. Encircling her in his arms he breathed her scent in, absorbing her, revering in the presence of her, the silence of the lair only disturbed by the whirring of the systems behind them and their shallow breathing engulfing them.

"I missed you," he whispered after few moments, unwilling to break the calm settled around them.

"I missed you too," she replied back in a teary whisper.

He disentangled himself from her after a moment moving instead to cup her cheeks, resting his forehead on hers, enjoying the rare peace the moment was offering them to cup her cheeks, he looked into the eyes of the woman he hadn't stopped thinking about the past three months, whose voice reigned his dreams replacing the nightmares that had once plagued his nights, her lips moving against his, her smile bringing warmth to him during cold nights, the memory of her touch grounding him night and day.

He had counted down the minutes until he would see her again, until he could feel her around him, had waited to hear her voice, for it to bring peace to the chaotic corners of his mind and heart, to chase away the dark that his life had become tangled in before he had met her and whenever he was away from her, only her memory and the promise of her return keeping the light inside him ablaze. And here she was, finally back, just as light and beautiful as ever.

* * *

Diggle sighed tiredly as he descended the steps to their team's sanctuary. He had just spent a day talking Lyla down from charging head first into the ARGUS headquarters determined to get her position back. How she would have done it with a full term baby bump is beyond him but he didn't doubt that she could have. He worried about her, her eagerness to step into danger while carrying their child scared him more though. He understood her restlessness, having been beside her in the middle of action for the majority of their relationship but he couldn't accept her need for the same now.

He remembered her ecstasy at being appointed the interim head of ARGUS and her despair at being replaced because of her current condition. He sympathized and stood by her side but he couldn't watch while she put herself and their child in danger. He knew she loved him and their child and that it was just difficult for her to accept and be inactive while her comrades rushed into battle.

Reaching the landing he was startled out of his inner thoughts with the sounds of sparring reverberating around the lair. Turning, his eyes widened in surprise as they landed on the two warring women on the training mats. He watched suddenly delighted as his closest friend squared off with their other returning teammate, never breaking a sweat as she took her opponents breath away with a single jab to the ribs with her staff.

He saw Felicity step back once before quickly jabbing the end of her staff once again this time into Sara's shoulder catching her off guard, turning into a pivot rotating her staff with her, she noticed Sara, now recovered, catch onto the end of her staff ready to pull her in, detaching the two ends of her staff Felicity effectively freed herself and used Sara's momentum to unbalance her. Grabbing the detached end in Sara's hand with her free one she spun the other woman in using one arm and leg to lock her in as she banded another arm around Sara's throat to choke her.

Flipping Felicity off her back with just two pumps of her body Sara proceeded to try to slam the small girl onto the mats, but before her back hit the ground Felicity had pushed her legs out and onto the ground using the force generated to break out of Sara's grasp. Spinning out she grabbed Roy's abandoned practice bow from nearby and spun in half a circle to drive the end of it into Sara's jaw. As Sara bent backwards to avoid being hit by the bow, Felicity swung her left leg out locking it inside Sara's bent knee and tripped the woman.

Falling onto her back but quickly recovering Sara grabbed her fallen staff from nearby as she jumped back onto her feet swishing her staff at a dodging Felicity's stomach and chest. Seeing her chance when Felicity locked both her feet onto the ground ready to retaliate, Sara crouched low in an effort to sweep her blond opponent's feet from under her. Felicity, predicting Sara's move, in turn took this opportunity to step onto Sara's back with her right foot jumping over her head and onto her upper back, swiftly sidestepping onto a nearby table on her left, pushing up on her left foot and reaching up to grab onto a low beam in the ceiling.

"How do you not have abs?" Sara commented seeing Felicity easily pull her legs up to her chest.

Using Sara's distraction against her she twisted her hips sideways and hit the woman against her temple lightly with her left foot disorienting her before she reached down to wound her thighs around the Canary's neck choking her once again. Exasperated by the question Felicity rolled her eyes as she answered her red faced friend, "How many times are we going to have the same conversation, Sara?"

"However long it takes me to understand the baffling biology of your body," Sara choked out.

"I have defined arms and a flat evenly toned stomach…" Felicity stated matter of factly.

"But not abs," Sara interjected in a strained voice, running out of air, her face now a crimson red.

"I guess I got lucky," Felicity shrugged as much as she could with her arms holding her up against the beam. Noticing Sara wasn't about to tap out any time soon, Felicity twisted her thighs around a little more tightly as she let go of the beam above her and used her body weight to flip onto her back taking Sara down with her. She stuck her palms out as the ground closed in on her landing on them and pushing out as she let go of Sara's throat and quickly pulled her legs up in the air before pushing them backwards onto the mat, her body twisted in a semi circle before pulling herself upright in one quick move.

Diggle watched fascinated as Felicity rushed back in with a knife and one detached end of her staff as Sara fell on her back, the fall knocking her breath out of her, and landed on the woman's stomach, straddling her and using her knees to lock her arms on either side of her before Sara even had a chance to move. She placed her right hand against Sara's upper thigh with the knife held in it resting it where Diggle knew lay the femoral triangle and her staff at the blonds throat. "Tap out Sara, you know you can't get out now…"

"Lucky? Smoak, this," Sara said ignoring Felicity's warning and pointing to her abs still panting, "is hot."

Felicity sighed at her friend, shaking her head at her friends' antics, a smile threatening to break out she patiently waited. Finally admitting defeat and seeing no way out Sara nodded her surrender. Smiling in victory Felicity got up and held her hand out to help her friend up, "Tell me again exactly why do we keep having this pointless conversation?"

"It's baffling isn't it?" Diggle heard a voice speak from beside him where he stood just outside the borders of the training mats. He looked to see Oliver standing by his side his mouth turned up in a content smile, his posture relaxed as he crossed his arms to watch, mesmerized with the dance between the two women on the mats. His eyes obsessively tracked the figure of the bottle blonde that just gave new meaning to the art of fighting with her agile moves, fast arms and smart dodges and her flexible maneuvering and handling of weapons.

"It really is."

"You know I still can't believe that's Felicity sometimes."

"Neither can I, man…neither can I. But there is something I know for sure…"

"What?"

"We'll have to watch out for yours and Felicity's kids. You never know they may come out of the womb already learned and skilled in the art of war..."

Oliver looked at his laughing friend horrified, the thought of children unnerving him. "So how's everything at home," Oliver choked out with difficulty, effectively changing the subject and bringing a stop to Diggle's chuckles. He should have known that Oliver would have noticed his drawn and tired expression, his sensitivity towards others emotions having increased since last year.

"Everything's…normal," Diggle finished lamely.

Oliver raised his eyebrows at him in defiance to his answer, getting a half hearted shrug in return.

"What do you want me to say man? It's how life is, disagreements are a part of being together. I can't always go whining around every time Lyla and I have an argument."

"Ok…I get that. But if you ever need to talk, I'm here."

"Thanks man, I appreciate it."

Oliver nods in return allowing a small smile to cross his face.

The sounds around the foundry suddenly halted as the sound of the metal door upstairs slamming shut exploded around them. Everyone instantly falling into fight mode, expecting danger until the red clad figure of an angry Roy stomping his way down into their home registered with them. The relaxing slouch at seeing their teammate's appearance not lasting long as each of them made a note of his furious expression.

They waited for the young man to acknowledge their presence, giving him time to gather his thoughts. As Roy turned around now devoid of his mask and hood, the anguish radiating off of him in waves startles the team. His eyes roaming around the interior of the lair, he notices for the first time since his return, the presence of the previously missing teammates and nods to them in greeting.

The first words out of Roy's mouth confuses them, "Can I talk to you alone?" he directs towards Oliver, his eyes nervously bouncing between the rest of the team.

Looking around at everyone's faces Oliver responds, "You can speak in front of all of us Roy. We are all a team here."

"Believe me for what I am about to tell you, it's better to be alone."

"It's never better to be alone Roy. It's ok…you know everyone here can be trusted."

Roy sighed. He didn't believe he could trust any of his teammates. It was a lone road he was walking he knew that but he couldn't bring himself to trust the people around him. At one point he had started to consider them family but his lone forays into the night had given him reasons not to. He knew they were hiding something important from him, lying to him. 'Ironic,' he thought, 'how Thea wants the truth from me and I can't even get the truth for myself.' He shook his head in an attempt to clear it this wasn't the time for that he knew. He knew he would, when the time was right, get the truth out of them. Now, remembering the matter at hand he decided to trust the people he believed cared about the woman he just met more than him. Decision taken, he set his jaw as he blurted out the reason for his anger, "Its Thea. She's back."

* * *

**For those who don't know the** **femoral triangle** **is an anatomical region of the upper inner** **human thigh****.**** It's important as a number of vital structures pass through it, right under the skin including the **_**femoral artery**_** and several of its branches, which ****is a large** **arte****ry** **in the thigh that provides blood to it****. **

**The next chapter will be out soon, until then…tata =)**


	2. Chapter 2

"Where did you see her? How is she?" Oliver fired at Roy.

"I saw her today when I was taking down a goon in an alley…"

"How is she?"

"She's…ok, um but different…"

"Different? How?

"Different…you...just not really like Thea."

"What? What do you mean not like Thea if it's Thea you met?" Oliver asked confused.

Sighing Roy tried to explain, "Thea was not Thea," at the confused frowns on his friends' faces he tries once again, "there was something very different about her…just really different."

"Okay…let's just drop that for now, where and when did you see her?" It was Felicity who finally put an end to the confusing conversation.

"I told you I saw her in an alley when I was taking down some lowlife with a gun."

"And…"

"And what?

"And why did you come back so angry? Something must have happened for that kind of reaction?"

"We could have just had a fight you know…"

"Then you would have come back broody not angry, so spill…"

Roy hesitated, his eyes jumping from person to person, stalling knowing his next words could be his last, "This is…actually not the first time I have seen…met her. I have been running into her randomly for the past two weeks…" before he could finish Roy found himself pinned to the wall behind him, his collar bunched tight in the fists of a very furious Oliver.

"Oliver…" Felicity's reprimanded him, "put him down. Fighting amongst ourselves will not get us anywhere."

"Felicity's right, we don't know why the kid didn't say anything. Let's hear him out before we lose our minds shall we…" Diggle supplied.

Oliver slowly loosened his grip on the shorter man's collar heeding his friends' advice and releasing him. "Guess it really was a great idea having you all here," Roy remarked in a strained voice as he slid down the wall nodding his gratitude to the two for their interruption.

At Oliver's angry growl he gulped continuing, "Anyways," he said stepping as far away from Oliver as he could, "I ran into her again tonight and again just like every other time she demanded the truth. She said I was not telling her everything and I confessed that I couldn't betray someone else's secrets…we have been doing this same dance where she taunts me and demands from me and I give her as much as I can. But today for the first time I saw her up close. She looked into my eyes furious and I couldn't recognize her. She's different Oliver, I can't point out how exactly but she's different and not in a good way."

"So any reason why you are suddenly coming out with this two weeks after your first meeting with her?" Diggle asked.

"And what kind of truth? If she wants the truth so bad why hasn't she contacted Oliver yet?" Felicity added.

"Truth, she thinks I know more about the Slade debacle than I let on, she wanted to know what my, Arrows and Oliver's involvement in it is and as for why she hasn't contacted Oliver yet, I wouldn't know. The reason," he continued looking towards Diggle, "I never said anything was because I thought she would want to be the one to come out herself and I just wanted to give her time. I saw someone with her today, that's what spooked me and I decided it was time I told you guys everything. All this time she met me alone, I think whoever it was that found us didn't know that she was meeting me and he didn't sound happy. But Thea…Thea seemed unfazed. She just left when he ordered her too…"

Felicity had already turned around proceeding towards her station, ready to set a search perimeter she inquired, "Ok, what can you tell us about this man…"

"He wore clothes I recognized," he interrupted Felicity's question.

"And that is supposed to help us…" he directed his attention towards Felicity behind the interrogating form of Diggle, ignoring the still form of a fuming Oliver and the blank faced Sara.

"He…whoever he was, was wearing the Leagues uniform."

* * *

"How is that possible? You are sure you saw the League's uniform?" Felicity asked while pacing the short distance between her computer set up chewing on her thumb nail, to where the boys and Sara stood near the mats.

"Yeah, I don't think I'll ever forget what a League's uniform looks like," Roy replied.

"Do you know who it could be?" Oliver spoke up finally from his place beside his friends looking hopefully towards the pacing blond.

"Oliver if I had seen her there, you don't think I would have brought her back with me?"

"I know you would have…" Oliver said hanging his head in sad defeat, searching for the right words.

"This doesn't make any sense. If she would have enrolled into the League I would have known…"

"How? She left months before you went back to your home." Roy questioned.

"When I was at Nanda Parbat my father insisted that I oversee some of the League's operations, which included background checks and scrubbing of a few members' identities, which meant I met and interacted with all of the new and old league members. I toured to all the other League locations with my sister and father."

"This was your father's idea of a vacation?!" Roy asked incredulously.

"You have no idea what we did for summer break, this comparatively was fun…well, fun-ner."

"Wow…and I thought my childhood sucked."

Throwing Roy a glare for his comment Felicity commenced her furious pacing.

"Maybe it's a rogue," she silently supplied, lost in her thoughts.

"I thought League of Assassins doesn't have rogues," Sara asked.

"Technically you were one until a few months ago and so is Cassandra Cain."

"Who's Cassandra Cain?"

"You don't have to worry about that Roy? Didn't you say the figure was definitely a man? So it couldn't be her."

"Then what do we do?"

"We don't do anything," at the others' sharp look Felicity raised her hands to placate them before continuing, "I do this. I have contact with the League now, don't forget. So if it's anyone from our ranks I'll know."

"Our ranks?" Oliver asked pointedly.

Ignoring Oliver's comment, Felicity proceeded to her station, setting up some searches on her programs she left a message to her sister through the channels that they had agreed upon before she left for Starling City. Since the League avoided most modern technology only using what benefitted them in their quest, mobile phones weren't easy to come by in a League compound. Turning back to her team she explained all that she had set up.

"So what do we do now?" Roy asked impatiently.

"Now, we wait."

* * *

Her phone rings the same time as her computers let out a series of beeps. Noticing the number on her caller id, Felicity moves away from the group leaving them behind to check out the alerts her searches yielded.

"**مساء****الخير**(Good Evening)"

"**يا****أختي****الخير****صباح**(Good Morning, My sister). **كيف****حالك؟**(How are you?)"

"**أنا****جيدة****النيصي**(I'm good, Nyssa). **أنا****آسف****هذا****ليس****وقتا****طيبا****. ****هل****لديك****ما****سألت****عنه؟**(I'm sorry this is not a good time. Do you have what I asked for?) **أعدكم****سوف****نتحدث****في****وقت****لاحق** (I promise we'll talk later.)"

" **نعم،****راجعت****. ****كانت****أبدا****في****أي****من****المركبات****الشقيقة****لدينا****. ****هل****كل****شيء****على****ما****يرام؟** (Yes, I checked. She was never in any of our compounds sister. Is everything alright?)

"**...****لا****. ****ولكن**(No. But…)"

"**قل****لي،****ربما****يمكنني****المساعدة** (Tell me, maybe I can help.)"

Taking a deep breath Felicity took a leap of faith, once again placing her trust in her sister Felicity gave her the description of Thea's companion she got from Roy. She waited as her sister fell silent over the phone, debating in her head whether she had done the right thing and not betrayed her team by laying out information to a member of an organization that they were wary of.

"**وانا****ذاهب****لاقول****لكم****شيئا****شقيقة****ويجب****أن****تعرف****أنني****لا****قد****قال****كلمة****لو****لم****أكن****أعتقد****أن****هذا****مهم****. ****هل****تفهم؟** (I am going to tell you something sister and you must know I would not have said a word if I did not believe this to be important. Do you understand?)"

" **نعم،****أنا****لا****النيصي****. ****ما****هو؟** (Yes, I do Nyssa. What is it?)"

"**الأب،****لم****يكن****يريد****مني****أن****أعرف****ولكن****تبين****لي****. ****طلبت****منه****أن****يرسل****لي****على****مهمة****للعثور****على****الرجل****لكنه****رفض****. ****أنا****قد****قلت****لكم****من****قبل،****ولكنها****قد****تراجع****ذهني****قبل****الآن**(Father, hadn't wanted me to know but I found out. I asked him to send me on the mission to find the man but he refused. I would have told you before, but it had slipped my mind.)"

"...**النيصي،****وأنا****أفهم****. ****ما****هو****عليه****الآن****تقول****لي****من****فضلك** (Nyssa, I understand. What is it tell me now please…)"

" **انه****عضو****المارقة****الجامعة**(He's a rogue League member...)"

"**...****النيصي،****وهذا****ليس****الوقت****المناسب****لجامعة****الأعمال****ولكم**(Nyssa, this is no time for League business, you…)"

"**Merlyn ****مالكولم****اسمه****.****تاليا****كان****حيا****ويجري****اصطيادها****من****قبل****الجامعة** (His name is Malcolm Merlyn. Talia he's alive and being hunted by the League.)"

Felicity felt her breath rush out of her lungs, the shock of her sister's words sending her pulse into overdrive, the choked sound that rushed out of her in an attempt to answer her sister's repeated calls startled her and attracted the attention of her friends. Their worried eyes landed on her pale face and wide eyes, rushing over to her side, they heard Nyssa calling out for Felicity from the other end of the line. Taking the phone from her shocked friend, Sara pushed her into the fussing arms of the men as she picked the phone to talk to Nyssa.

"It's Malcolm…he's alive." Felicity choked out in a small voice. "That's who you saw Roy. That was Malcolm Merlyn and the League is hunting him which puts Thea in even more danger," the words tumbled out unbidden as Felicity finally looked into the worried eyes of the men in front of her. Turning to Oliver she softly whispered, "He's alive Oliver."

* * *

His footsteps echoed in the silent confines of the abandoned building he was moving in, his bow held at the ready arrow notched and held down, his team situated around the outskirts of the building as backup. Three days after the ground shattering news he received he had come to the dilapidated structure in hopes of reuniting with his sister. The consequent beeps on Felicity's network on the night of the revelation had alerted the team to a crime similar in nature to some about two years ago. The black patented arrow embedded in the victims' body they realized after the news of Malcolm's survival was a message to them.

Finally getting a lead after nonstop searching, the team had closed in on the building on the outskirts of the Glades, the structure abandoned after the Slade riots. Turning around a corner on the fourth floor he ran straight into a petite figure. Raising his bow in defense Oliver noticed the brown locks and the familiar smirk adorning the masked face of the girl before him. His breath caught in his throat, different emotions battling for dominance inside him at the sight of his sister, alive and well.

"So I finally get the pleasure of meeting you Arrow." Thea talked haughtily sauntering towards him, "I never really got to thank you for saving my life last year…sothank you," she smirked. Oliver remained silent throughout the exchange, realizing she didn't know who he was. "Can't find your voice Arrow?" Thea heckled. "Then let's discuss why you're here shall we? You Mr. Arrow have managed to piss off a lot of people including my mentor. You are my final test. So, what do you say to a good old fashioned fight, my green leathered friend?"

Oliver's eyes widened in horror finally understanding Merlyn's game. Creating discord between him and Thea wouldn't have been difficult given the circumstances behind Thea's departure but this was not about divide and conquer it was Merlyn's twisted play of displaying the control he now held over his sister.

Before he could reply another figure rushed in from behind him, blocking him from his sister's periphery. The light black leather coat bellowing about her, the pink lining peeking out, her turban and veil protecting her identity, her weapons shining in the dim lighting of the building Felicity came to a halt before his sister, ready for a fight.

Shocked at the new arrival, Thea reacted, slipping her gun out of its holster on the left side of her waist she fired incessantly. Seeing the woman deflect every single one of her bullets with expert spins of her retractable silver Bo staff, Thea was shocked. Spinning the Bo staff above her head and pivoting on her toes the woman stepped towards her knocking the gun out of her hands with a simple swing of her staff as she brought it down.

"Who are you?" Thea gaped.

"Darling, that doesn't matter, what matters though, is that you just submitted yourself to a suicide mission. Walk away now and I promise you go unharmed."

Thea laughed regaining her composure before replying, "My battle is with the Arrow, you are not needed here."

"He doesn't fight little girls," Felicity retorted. "If you want to fight the Arrow you'll have to go through me first," she continued at Thea's snarl.

"Why, is he that scared of me that he would hide behind a woman?" The petite woman mocked.

"You know, I hate it when women are condescending towards other woman, that's just insulting to our own gender. And no he isn't scared, he's just a noble idiot who wouldn't hurt you. But lucky for you I have no such qualms."

"Fine…whatever. I am going out of here the victor anyways."

"Oh darling you should know, overconfidence and arrogance are not attractive qualities."

"So do you plan on fighting me with words or are you finally gonna jump in the ring."

"Bring it on, Brownie."

Thea charged in anger towards the woman, twisting into a five-forty degree Lotus kick, jumping with two feet, her upper body held upright she turned her head and body in a twisting motion swinging her arms around, her right leg coming out to kick at her opponents shoulder and her left leg below held straight. Predicting every move of the younger girl, Felicity moved her upper body sideways to avoid the hit as she extended both her hands out towards her left to grab the pinning girl by her ankle and knock her down. Before she could stand back up, Felicity had detached her staff into two and aimed both points at her throat.

"Tired already?"

"I don't get tired," Thea said as she placed her palms face down beside her head using them to push forward raising her lower body up she pushed her feet down on the ground landing on her feet as her mysterious intruder moved away this time securing away the retractable staff on her weapons belt. They circled each other, holding the others furious gaze, as Oliver watched still frozen from the sidelines. The image of a bouncing five year old Thea jumping into his arms clashing in his mind's eye with the warring woman he saw in front of him.

Thea attacked first, her fists coming out in a one-two punch combo, easily deflected by Felicity, her arms coming out to block the punches. As she blocked the last punch from Thea, she opened her palm and caught onto the other girls' wrist twisting it behind her back. Thea, twisted her body the other way and wrenched her wrist out of the hold, regaining her fighting stance she broke out in a run towards Felicity, jumping on one foot she spun in the air, sticking out her right foot to deliver a kick to the other woman's head. Felicity ducked, and spun a step away to stand upright once again, an appreciative smile adorning her veiled lips, "You're good...but I'm better.

At Thea's condescending laugh, Felicity turned and ran backwards; stepping onto a railing she pushed down on her right foot and jumped up arching her back she sailed downwards head first, her hands slipping inside her coat she ducked into a somersault as she neared the ground. Landing in front of Thea on one knee she broke out her knives, slashing through the leathers under the other woman's knees. Thea's grunt of pain sent shivers down Oliver's spine, watching his baby sister fall to her knees finally breaking the ice that had formed over his body, concern and a need to protect her taking over his senses moving his feet forward in an attempt to comfort her.

A sudden noise from the corner he had previously entered from broke his gaze from the two women he loved most in the world, his worry for the young girl taking a backseat for the moment. Adjusting his slackened grip on the arrow he turned to see the dark figure of his formerly dead nemesis standing in the shadows watching the scene unfold behind him. A smirk graced his lips as he moved his gaze to Oliver, his eyes holding a challenge. Loosening his arrow in answer Oliver advanced, his bow extended out to hit, dodging the jab from Oliver Malcolm pivoted aside grabbing Oliver's left arm he twisted it behind the man's back.

Breaking out of Malcolm's hold easily, Oliver turned to step into a basic stretch kick, catching the man on his chin; Oliver twisted to deliver a blow to the man's temple with his elbow. Before he could complete the turn Malcolm did the same catching Oliver in the neck, unbalancing him. As he dodged Malcolm's punch to his side, he twisted around facing his back to the man and extended his hands backwards to grab onto his head, grabbing him under the chin and around his nape Oliver flipped him over his back, down on the ground in front of him. Malcolm sweeped his feet under Oliver's as soon as he landed hard onto his back, to trip the green archer, jumping up he avoided the other man's sweep, landing back on his feet he pivoted one step away, grabbing an arrow in the process and nocking it, aiming towards the recovering dark archer he let go. The arrow sliced through the air racing towards Malcolm's right arm, its destination the brachial nerve on the inside.

Raising his arm to avoid the arrow Malcolm charged towards the Arrow, the projectile previously headed in the direction of his arm nicking him in the shoulder as he bent into a sprint towards the hooded figure. Closing his arms around his waist Malcolm picked the man up from the floor and threw him on the cold concrete below. Oliver landed on his back with a thud, Malcolm's hands closed around Oliver's throat as he was moving to spin away from his opponent's approaching form. Malcolm he sneered into his face taunting him, "Looks like you haven't learned your lesson yet Oliver."

Butting his head against Malcolm's nose, Oliver managed to slacken the man's grip on his throat. Pushing the dark archer off of him, he stood up his lips ticked up in a smug smile, his hands already readying an arrow as he watched blood trickle down from the man's nose, the answering growl from his opponent attracting the attention of the two fighting women behind them. Seeing the two men return to battle, their paces quickened. Jabbing her elbow into Thea's temple Felicity grabbed her arm to spin her in locking her right arm around her throat in a choke hold while securing both of Thea's arms beside her waist with her other.

"Anger will not get you anywhere Thea, and throwing a tantrum the size of Malcolm Merlyn will not help but deter."

"How do you know who I am?"

"It doesn't matter, believe me Thea this won't help you."

"I don't care. I am stronger and more capable now that's what matters."

A kick to the front of her knee unbalances Felicity. Seeing the smug smirk on the younger Queens face Felicity, not once loosening her hold on the woman, pulls the girls head back with one arm, a fistful of her hair gripped lightly between her fingers, before whispering, "Don't. Get. Cocky. That's the first rule to being a good warrior."

"I thought the first rule was never get tired…"

"Whoever taught you that doesn't know the first thing about being a warrior."

A shout interrupts from behind Felicity diverting her attention to the warring men. Her breath leaves her as she sees Oliver sliding down a concrete pillar, a black arrow sticking out of his left shoulder, pain etched across his features.

"I'm done indulging you!" Felicity snarls to a smirking Thea, with that she unlocks her arms from around her captives throat, pushing the brunette forward, a quick look behind her she sees the towering figure of Malcolm Merlyn nocking another arrow, pulling her staff out she separates it in two parts, hurling one towards the former League of Assassins member she knocks the bow off balance from his hand before he could notch the arrow and in the same move crouches down to sweep Thea's feet off, hitting her ankle, effectively twisting it as the girl goes down. Standing back up she crosses her arms, slipping her palms inside the jacket she slips 2 Glock 17's from the holsters fastened on both sides of her waist, she points one at a smirking Malcolm and the other on the downed form of the younger Queen.

"Move a muscle and I shoot."

"Oh please, do you really think you can hurt me girl!" Malcolm sneered.

"You would be better off not to doubt me Merlyn."

"Really and why is that?"

"Because I am Talia Al Ghul," she watches smugly as fear replaces the once aloof expression on the older man's face, "nice to finally make your acquaintance Mr. Merlyn."

* * *

**Thea's costume has been put up as the cover for this story. Anyone wondering, the reason that she doesn't get a proper costume yet is because she is on a vengeance drive right now. She still has to evolve as a hero, has to find herself, that's why she doesn't get a complete costume yet.**

**Cassandra Cain was conceived and trained with the intention of creating the perfect bodyguard for Ra's Al Ghul. She is the daughter of David Cain and Sandra Woo who would later become Lady Shiva after training under Ra's.**

**Cain never taught her speech or reading, so that the parts of the brain normally used for speech were trained so she could read other people's movements and body language and predict, with uncanny accuracy, their next move. Killing Faizul, a target at age eight, she understood for the first time in intimate detail what it meant to take a life. She ran away from her father after that for what he had caused her to do. She spent the next nine years homeless as a wandering, mute drifter, later becoming a student of Oracle's (Barabara Gordon) at age seventeen she finally learnt how to read and speak through the therapy Barbara provided. **

**After seeing the handy work of her father Cain, Cassandra became involved with the Bat Family and after saving Commissioner Gordon's life from her assassin father she was given the Batgirl costume with the approval of both Batman and Oracle. She later also took up the mantle of BatCat after giving up the moniker of Batgirl to Stephanie Brown.**

**The information above is courtesy of Comic Vine ( .com)**


	3. Chapter 3

The darkness surrounded him, enveloping him like skin, oozing into him, his frazzled nerves soothed to a degree by the coolness of the night. He held his body stiffly, his arms crossed, his expression drawn, the hardness of his eyes contrasting heavily against the soft inky night. Still agitated by the events of the night he stood looking out onto the inky the overgrown farm surrounding his property. The whistling of a raccoon while another chittered in the distance broke through the silence of the night interrupting his morose thoughts.

Refocusing his eyes to his surroundings he took a deep breath opening up his senses in an act of meditation. His alert ears catching the sound of the rustle of the wind outside as it brushed through the overgrown weeds and trees surrounding the property, the pitter patter of rat feet and the chirping of the crickets all mixed into a natural melody, the smell of oak wood floors, wet grass and dew hung in the air, the moisture in the air sweet on his tongue, while the shadows of the leaves danced to the night song, their movements fluid and flowing with the wind.

The country style farmhouse, secluded in the overgrown farms on the outskirts of Starling City was one of his backroom deals before his supposed death. The location of this house was a secret from everyone from his previous life, he felt safe enough here to set up shop the three times he had been back in his hometown.

The spacious great room of the place around which the interior of the home revolved was what had sealed the deal for him along with the two thousand eight hundred square feet basement. The great room and the basement utilized now as training areas along with the overgrown field outside while the four bedrooms and the three baths in the two storied house served as a good place to rest and recuperate. The bedroom right above his master suite in the left wing of the house he converted into his office to deal with the businesses still under him to keep the money coming in and safeguarding the investments he still held. Thea's reluctance to still be considered family meant that the formal dining room and breakfast area went unused, both parties secluding themselves in their respective suites for each meal of the day.

Lost in the silent world of meditation he was startled when the lights in his office suddenly turned on, the harsh light making his eyes squint after his prolonged exposure to the dark. Turning around to face his intruder he was met with the furious face of his daughter.

"_What_ was that?" Her quiet voice laced with unadulterated fury exclaimed, echoing in the quiet of the room. Her blazing brown eyes, rigid stance and set shoulders enunciating the anger she felt. Schooling his features into seeming aloof he replied to the young woman standing before him in as steady a voice as he could manage, "I don't know what you're talking about?"

"_Really_? It doesn't look like that to me." Thea challenged.

"Thea…"

"Thea'ing me won't work, _Merlyn_." Thea exclaimed angrily. "I want to know why you ran away from there with your tail tucked between your legs. _Who_ is Talia Al Ghul and what's so special about her? I thought you were _Merlyn_," she stopped mid sentence, pausing for emphasis and taking a step towards the larger man. Crossing her arms in front of her, jutting out a hip she continued to mock him, her eyes, now free of the confines of her mask, holding a challenge, "_The_ Dark Archer, skilled warrior and archer who wasn't afraid of _anyone_…"

"Enough!" Malcolm bellowed, stopping Thea mid sentence. Turning away from his daughter he looked outside into the overgrown field once again from his perch at the stained window of his office. He breathed in, calming his boiling nerves to a gentle simmer he gathered his thoughts, knowing any hope for refuge was now fraught he readied himself to give answers to questions he knew she deserved but he, on his part, was reluctant to part from.

His dark eyes glinted against the harsh light of the fluorescents as he looked over his shoulder to the impatient form of the young girl, the anger ebbing away now his eyes shone with the fear residing in their depths from his previous encounter. Noticing the irritable tilt of the young woman's head he croaked out, "Believe me Thea if you would have known who she is you wouldn't have stayed either."

"From where _I_ stood she didn't look that scary."

"She beat you without breaking a sweat," Malcolm replied irritated with the girl's defiance.

"I gave her as _good_ as I got."

"No you _didn't_ and you know it."

"What is your…"

"She's the youngest daughter of _Ra's Al Ghul_." Malcolm interrupted. His voice lowering to a quiet whisper at his former leader's name, as if afraid that saying it aloud would magically conjure his form in the closed confines of his wood paneled office.

"Who's…"

"He's the leader of the League of Assassins. I trained under his people. Never with him though, he trains only a select few. Most of my mentors were his protégé's but still the only fighters who have the skill to measure up to his level are his daughters."

"Right…the League of Assassins…" Thea deadpanned, her voice reflecting her lack of belief.

"The _League_ is real Thea." Malcolm sighed at his daughter. "I met Ra's in Nanda Parbat after Rebecca's death and was tutored on his property. When I was there training, Talia wasn't with them. She was with her mother while Nyssa, his oldest trained with him. She was a ruthless warrior even at the age of seven. After my training was complete and my contract fulfilled I returned to Starling, occasionally going back to Nanda Parbat when I was needed or for business purposes. On one of these trips I ran into her, Talia, she was fifteen then. I had heard stories about her, about the allure of her beauty and her natural skill as a warrior along with the inborn gift of a strong mind and her effortless mastery of weapons, disguises, emotions and well _everything_. Until that day I hadn't believed a word of it, considering her to be a fable, a _fantasy_ created by the leaders of the League.

Her eyes had a fire in them that would burn anyone who dared cross paths with her, and even being at such a young age as hers I could see why they had nicknamed her the seductress. She didn't need to put in any effort to be sultry or sexy; all she had to do was look at you. Her eyes did all the work for her. It didn't necessarily even have to be sexual, that girl could be anything she wanted anytime, and she used it to her benefit. Innocence or vixen she wore every emotion, every disguise as a skin and lured you in. I never talked to her or trained or fought with her. But I knew she would never be one I could ever win against.

She can use every weapon at her disposal ancient or modern, physical or emotional, she mastered the art of mental warfare the day she stepped foot onto the training mats. That night I saw her take down a man _twice _her size and age," Malcolm said. His eyes glazing over as he recalled the night, the full moon illuminating the fighting bodies of the man and woman, the odd angle of the man's leg playing on a loop in his mind's eye when Talia had finished pulling on the nun chucks wrapped around his calves, the memory of his chilling scream accompanying the images, "Someone who was more experienced than her. Someone I had trained under, someone I knew to have known no pain until that night, he left the ring with _nothing_ but his life intact. She and Nyssa are the only ones that I fear as much as I fear Ra's Al Ghul."

Silence fell over the room as Thea absorbed the words of her biological father, her heart beating relentlessly against her chest demanding to be let out at the revelation. "I saw the fight Thea," Malcolm started in a quiet voice breaking the lull of the atmosphere, "the _only_ reason that you are standing here right now is because she was holding back."

"She sounds more like a myth than a reality to me," Thea defied ignoring the fear now taking over her insides.

"I am telling you Thea; don't ever underestimate an Al Ghul. They aren't just ruthless, they are deadly. This battle is mine alone to fight. I may fear them and I may have always been one to take big risks but I won't be risk your life for mine."

"Maybe…"

"_Just_ listen to me this once. Stay away from her, this fight is mine and mine alone or the next time you might not come back at all."

"Okay."

* * *

**2 days earlier…**

The angry snarl that echoed around the dark interiors of the lair accompanied by the sudden crashing sound, the crinkle of breaking glass and the bang of metal on concrete stopped her in her tracks. The sound bringing her feet to a halt at the end of the metal landing, her eyes darted around the dark space in search of the source of the commotion. Her eyes landed on a heaving Oliver, dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, his stance wide, fists clenched at his sides rubbing the index finger against the thumb of his right hand. Making her way down to the medical area where Oliver stands, she quietly wraps her arms around his torso her head coming to rest between his shoulder blades she feels him shiver, every pore in his body exuding anguish, the anger having evaporated with his outburst, his broken expression mirroring the state of the apparatuses now lying on the ground.

She let the silence takeover the two of them, feeling him relax under the ministrations of her fingers against his torso, the circular motion spreading warmth through him. After a long moment he lets himself go his body slouching with an exhale, his head dropping, eyes now closed as he focuses on the movement of Felicity's finger's, her breath warm against his sweaty back where his thin t-shirt clings to his skin, sending shivers down his spine.

"I had a fight with Roy," he confesses quietly. His body sagging some more, a sigh escapes him as he turns around to face the love of his life. He finds the peace he longs for in the depths of her blue eyes, absorbing the love and support her presence offers him, he continues, his voice still down to a quiet broken whisper, "He thought we weren't doing enough, said I didn't care about happened to Thea."

"Oliver…"

"I told him he had it all wrong. But was he right Felicity? I mean we should have found her by now, shouldn't we have?" Oliver questioned brokenly, his voice rising an octave, he raked his hand through his short cropped hair in frustration as he turned his head away from hers, hiding the emotions taking over him, breaking through his stoic façade.

"Oliver it's just been _one_ day since we have known. These things take time, you know that," Felicity replied cradling his cheeks in the palm of her hands, directing his eyes back to hers. The anger, frustration, agony and defeat that reflected back at her stole her breath away.

"Yes, but…"

"No buts Oliver," Felicity interjected, stepping towards him, their toes touching, drawing their faces closer she grasps his face firmly, she holds his gaze steadily and continues, her voice hard as steel yet just as soft to his ears, "Roy is wrong. We are doing everything and more. No one is alone in this, we are all a family. Digg's out with you every night patrolling extra hours even though you have asked him time and again to go be with his family, Sara is searching every known and unknown Merlyn property we have been able to find and using police resources to find more leads, Roy is just frustrated at the moment. Don't take everything he says to heart. His contacts aren't faring well either. He's out on the streets all night and no one knows anything, no one can tell him anything and that's agitating him. You have to be the smart one here. You are his mentor and friend. I know you want to lash out just like him; _she's_ your sister after all. But you have kept your cool and that's what you need to do now," she urges. "I promise Oliver we'll find her."

Oliver sighs in defeat falling to the ground in a defeated heap, his body no longer able to hold his weight as he gives in to his emotions. The light reflected from the broken glass shining in his wet eyes as tears escape from their confines. Regret adding to the emotions already flitting across his face he whispers, "I don't understand you know. I thought she said she was going to Europe, that she needed time. I let her go Felicity, I let her go," he finishes his head falling in the cradle of his arms that rest over his folded knees.

"How are you surprised?!" Felicity exclaims attracting Oliver's attention, his forehead creasing in a confused frown as he raises his eyes to meet hers. "Weren't you the one who went to Lian yu just last year after telling everyone that you were touring Spain?"

"That's different…"

"No it's really not," Felicity reasoned, her voice dropping to a teasing tone. She smiled softly at the man sitting before her. Carding delicate fingers through his hair in a soothing manner, she busied the fingers of her left hand smoothing away the wrinkles of his frown from his forehead, trying to convey the love and belief she held for him through her gestures. Continuing in a soft voice she explained, "And no you didn't let her go Oliver," Felicity interrupts. "You did what any sane person would do, you gave her time. Holding her here would not have helped, even though letting her go didn't _either_…but that's not the point." She corrected her tangent. "The point is you both lost everything in the past year, your family, your company, the house you grew up in and the fortune along with it but she lost so much more. She lost her identity..."

"_She's_ a _Queen_…"

"Yes she is. _I_ know that and you definitely know it but she needed time to process and accept it too. She had to accept her new reality and to understand that blood isn't all that matters and all you did was give her an opportunity and the time to do that."

"And yet here we are…"

"Yet here we are. She chose to fight, Oliver. That's not wrong, like brother like sister after all. The only thing wrong with this situation, is who she chose to learn from, and that's our fault. We will get her back, make it up to her and then all this will be behind us you'll see," she concludes her voice encouraging, a reassuring smile spread across her face. Laying her palm on his arm, she looks into his eyes coaxing him to understand, to get back up and fight for his family. The relieved breathe that she releases at Oliver's determined nod brings a smile to the man's face. He watches her get back up, making her way to her systems.

"You know they are saying Ray may not last long," Felicity says attracting Oliver's attention up to her back from the sway of her hips. Still clueless about Oliver's momentary distraction she continues, "Apparently the investors aren't happy that all his attention seems to be focused on Applied Sciences, personally I think it's a good strategy but what do money men know...right? And that might just work in your favor, so who am I to complain." Felicity finishes, shrugging, her attention focused on the multiple screens in front of her.

Following her to her chair, he cups her shoulders bending to lay a kiss at the nape of her neck sending shivers down her spine. A smile stretches across his face at her body's reaction, loving the way he feels wanted around her, not just physically but in every other way. He looks to her as she turns her face up to his, returning his smile, and sighing in content at the comfort his proximity provides her. "We never did get to go on that date," he says quietly, regret once again pooling in his stomach.

Felicity smiles at him, turning her face back to her screens she replies, "Don't worry, we will, when the time is right."

* * *

"Oliver! Oliver!" Felicity calls, her eyes wide in fear and voice relaying her alarm, she tries to support a stumbling Oliver dressed in his greens.

"I'm fine Felicity…" Oliver slurs in reply.

"What happened?" she hears Diggle's voice as they exit the dilapidated building with uncoordinated feet. Turning to him, Oliver still in her arms, his weight feeling heavy against her petite body she replies, "I…I don't know Digg." Her eyes dart back to the stumbling man beside her, her voice tinted in fear she continues, "One minute Malcolm and he were fighting and the next he's falling from an arrow in the shoulder."

"Let's get him to the lair and we'll see what's gotten into him," Digg says, a concerned frown spreading across his forehead as he takes the younger man's weight from Felicity's shoulder, Roy joining him. Rushing down the stairs with a staggering Oliver between them, Roy and Diggle head towards the medical bay. Diggle orders his teammates into action, directing Felicity to attach the heart monitors to Oliver, Sara having joined them in time for the car to speed to their new location, to the blood bank and Roy to hold onto Oliver, he shines his penlight into Oliver's eyes only to have it batted away.

Having noted his dilated pupils, Diggle rushes for a syringe. Drawing blood from the weaker man he heads to the microscopes situated a few feet away from the med table. A continued beeping from the machines attached to Oliver diverts his attention back to him from the blood he's examining. His blood runs cold as he realizes that the younger man is going into tachycardia. A startled gasp from Felicity startles him into action rushing to get another syringe Diggle returns to the metal gurney where Oliver lies to administer a ninety five milligram dose of Metoprolol Succinate. His task completes, standing back he watches in relief as his heart rate drops from a worrying one-thirty five to one hundred and returning to normal.

"He'll be fine for now Felicity," laying a hand on her shoulder in reassurance and giving a last squeeze he rushes back to the microscopes, beside Sara, who in his absence had taken over examining the samples. Directing one last look of concern in Felicity's direction, as she sits in vigil beside Oliver, holding his hand firmly in hers, he watches Roy move to stand beside Felicity in support.

The constant mumbling from Oliver proves distracting to every member of the team, his shouts of outrage and denial shocking them. His body writhing occasionally against the cold metal of the table, agony flowing through him, reliving a time long gone, a torture inflicted on his body a long time ago now playing with his mind. Names of people dead, the ones he feels he failed dropping like grenades on them.

The last teary exclamation from him freezes the occupants of the secret lair in their places, they watch in shocked attendance as his eyes focus on a far away point, a whisper leaving his chapped lips, his voice sounding dry. The devastated sound reverberates around in the silence of the lair, sadness settling in the bones of the silent spectators, they feel his words tug on the walls of their hearts, "Thea…Thea I'm so sorry Thea," Oliver calls, tears falling from his glazed eyes. "I'm sorry. Please comeback. I'm sorry about everything. I love you Thea, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for everything. I didn't mean for this all to happen, if I could I would bring back mom, step in place of her, and take the sword to my chest. Please don't leave again…I'll tell you everything but please comeback Thea. I'm so sorry…" Oliver trails off, his voice quivering.

"I got it!" The silent exclamation from the other side of the lair breaks the tension now settled over the atmosphere. Looking towards a triumphant Diggle, Felicity let's hope take over her body. Rising to give space to Digg as he rushes around the lair looking inside medicine drawers the team waits. Another triumphant exclamation later Diggle administers Diocarpine, an antidote to counter the poison taking over his friend's body. Turning to his teammates, leaving the green hooded man to rest he answers their unspoken question, "He was poisoned…"

"We kind of gathered that," Roy deadpans.

Sighing in anger at the young man Digg continues, "The poison comes from a plant called Atropa Belladona, otherwise also known as Deadly Nightshade and my personal favorite Devil's Cherry, apparently all parts of the plant are poisonous, from the roots to the leaves and fruit. Looks like Merlyn had coated his arrow heads with the substance."

"Wait how do you know so much about this poison?"

"Well, after last time I didn't want t o take any more chances, so I got myself an education on the nitty gritties of the poisons of the world," Diggle answers, his hands slipping into the pocket of his pants, in reply to Felicity's query.

"Wow, thank god for you and your perceptive thinking…" Felicity trails off, her eyes losing focus as her brain loses itself in thought.

"Wait, are you sure the poison came from Merlyn's arrow?" Felicity questions after a silent pause, her eyes focusing back on the vigilant team standing beside Oliver's bedside, her eyebrows scrunching in disbelief and confusion.

"Well, there was no other way the poison could have gotten into his system. If it would have been airborne then none of you would have gotten out of there intact. Why?"

"Because I never thought Malcolm would be one to use poisons on his weapons."

"Deadshot does and he never misses," Diggle points out.

"Yeah, he does. But Digg he's not League trained. The most skilled and topmost of League members haven't been known to use poisons on their weapons. Their too confident of their skills for that! Yes they use poisons but they never coat their weapons with it, it's not saying that some members don't but that's very rare."

"So what if Malcolm does?" Roy asks.

"No she's right. Malcolm is one of those who are either too arrogant or too confident. He wouldn't use poisons until he was absolutely sure that his skills wouldn't be enough," Sara interjects as she surmises the meaning behind Felicity's confusion, her own eyes glazing over in thought.

"So you mean he's scared of something?" Diggle asks the girls.

"No, not something Digg, _someone_…" Sara answers, her voice trailing off as her eyes land on the costumed form of Felicity, realization slowly dawning on the rest of the team.

"He's afraid of Ra's Al Ghul."

"My father..."

* * *

Entering her lavish suite, she sheds her leather pants, the boots having long been discarded after the excitement of the night. Flicking on the lights the brunette moves around her new room, dropping clothes and weapons on her way to the bathroom. Still not used to the silence of her surroundings, Thea Queen switches on the television, the volume turned down low before proceeding with her night's routine.

Singing along absentmindedly with the tune playing in the background she steps out of her warm shower, her mind reverting back to the happenings of the night and her biological father's reaction to the introduction of her opponent. The memory of the fear reflected in the man's eyes sends shivers down her spine.

'He said I was lucky,' she thought, wiping the fog off of her mirror. 'How am I lucky when I have lost everything I had ever loved?' Lost it all to lies and secrets, her mind spat at her bitterly. Anger returned full force to her being. She had been wronged, wronged by everyone she trusted and she still suffered, the treacherous organ continued. 'It's time they suffer the same as I have,' Thea concluded letting her anger speak for her suffering.

Looking in the mirror of her bathroom at the unrecognizable face of the woman staring back, her heart filled with hate. Her body bare, she rushed into her room, her feet carrying her on a whim, dripping water on the way on the beige carpet. Her hands opened drawers with unbridled force, her bedside table rattling with the pressure, in search of something. Grabbing the shears from the last drawer of her bedside table she walked back. Standing once again in front of the bathroom mirror she raised her hands, carding her fingers through her shoulder length hair, the soft texture calming her for a moment and in a quick movement the calm discarded as the blades slipped between the strands of her brown locks, shedding the last piece of the old Thea on the white tiled ornate bathroom of her new home.

Leaving the litter of sheared hair behind, the girl walked back into her room, a determination settling over her, giving up the girl she used to be to be the woman she is now. Intent on getting a good night's sleep she moved to the dresser on the other side of her room, picking up her discarded leathers on the way she raked her hands through her newly sheared locks. A crinkling sound attracted her attention back to the ground, angling her feet upwards she noticed a piece of paper stuck to the heel of her foot.

Plucking it, Thea unfolded the white stationary and examined it. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion as she read through the unfamiliar script, the invitation a puzzle to her. She knew who the note belonged to without a doubt, even if she didn't recognize the handwriting.

'Do I accept it?' she wondered to herself staring at the paper held in the palm of her hand, an invitation to meet spelled out within it.

* * *

**I am not literate in terms of medicine so if there are any mistakes in the diagnosis above, I apologize. Google, Wikipedia and other medical sites served as a reference and research portal for the scene, and I hope I have gotten it right.**

**Further, since I do not get to reply to guest reviewers through Private Messaging, I will be replying to them in bulk in every three chapters in the author notes. To **Andy** and **Carrie** thank you so much for your reviews. Andy your enthusiasm for this story and my return brought a huge smile to my face so thank you for that, I hope you have enjoyed the following chapters as much as you enjoyed the first one, hopefully more =) and Carrie, well here you go, your wish is my command ;)…**

**Also you might have noticed that I have added an Alternate Universe tag to the story, it's fairly obvious why but I would like to still explain. Even though I love reading speculation stories on the upcoming Oliver x Felicity storyline in Arrow season 3, I myself don't do very good with speculation as I had explained in the first part of this series. So in my story, Ray and Felicity's relationship never happens and although I love the slow burn on the show I wanted them to be together in this story and so here it is. Ray will probably show up in the following chapters but not in the capacity of a love interest for Felicity.**


	4. Chapter 4

The rain pattered against the sidewalk, the staccato beat of the droplets hitting concrete the only sound that dared interrupt the quiet whispers of the two lone figures that stood under a concrete beam of the brownstone structure, sheltering themselves from the downpour. Their heads stood joined together, lips a whisper of a breath away, the quiet hum of their giggles lulled by the sudden howling wind.

Slight shivers racked over their jacketed bodies as the cold wind breezed through them, zigzagging through the slight crevices still present in the distance that their bodies still held. The tappity tap tap of the rain served as background music to the small world only they seemed to occupy. The trickle of a lone cool drop weaving its way down her cheek to the underside of her chin, having abandoned the beam it had once rested upon, broke her out of the spell she was trapped in with her companion. Turning in the embrace the woman extended her hands forward, keys clutched tightly as to not let it slip from her grip, the woman opened the oak door protecting the interior of the brownstone home from the damp atmosphere of the world outside as the clock tower in the distance chimed four in the morning.

Stepping inside the warmth of her home, she let her lower body duck away behind the door, taking shelter from the cold, as she peeked out her blue eyes landing on the blues depths of her companions. Oliver stood still, his hands shoved inside the pockets of his pants, fending away the cold now that he didn't have the woman in his arms to keep him warm. His eyes stayed glued to hers, his hesitation to leave just yet clear in the cerulean depths.

"Do you wanna come in?" Her whispered question broke his gaze away from hers for a moment, his eyes landing on her lips, where he noticed her torturing her lower lip, a sign of nervousness, of hesitation, looking back up into her eyes Oliver nodded, his head moving only an inch but the smile on his face gave away his delight at the invitation.

The spacious foyer that he stepped into extended into a living room that stood alighted by the automatic fireplace in the right hand corner wall, casting a warm glow about the modern interior. He watched Felicity putter around, fluffing colorful throw pillows on her white couch, putting remotes and other gadgetry away under the glass coffee table, moving the centerpiece that once sat on the coffee table to three other locations before dumping it on a shelf where titles ranging from Basics of Coding to Pride and Prejudice and Absolute Power sat in no particular order. He caught sight of Tolkien, J.K. Rowling and James Patterson all sharing a combined space on the honeycomb shelves that made up the divider between her living and dining room.

His eyes followed her every moment, his eyes darting towards her as she ducked quickly away behind the shelves, running in to drop a file on an L-shaped desk that stood where a dinner table should have been. A chuckle escaped him as he saw Felicity once again rushing away in a whirlwind into the kitchen, her energy surprising him. He dropped into the office chair sat with its back to the honeycomb structure, his body exhausted from the excitement of the night he waited for her to re-emerge. Facing the tabletop he took note of the desktop with three connected monitors, a laptop, two tablets, and a cloud drive neatly arranged on both side of the L-shaped structure. The desk held three consecutive drawers for filing on the right side where its side met the wall of the shelf. The beige and brown interior of the home made more interesting with random splashes of color here and there; from the colorful post-its decorating the bland tabletop of the desk and the rim of the screens of her monitors, to the pens, tablet covers and books. The differently colored cushions, the carmine rug and framed posters of TV Shows like Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, and Star Trek: Next Generation hung symmetrically along the walls gave character to her living room.

He stood up, his feet carrying him to the framed posters on the wall. A warm hand softly settling on the blades of his left shoulder broke his attention from where he stood obsessively observing the poster of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

"Hey what are you thinking?" Felicity whispered moving closer to him, slipping a hand in front, a mug of coffee clutched tight in offering.

"Nothing…" he whispered back, accepting the cup and taking a sip of the hot beverage.

"Not even Thea?"

"No…Well now I'm thinking about her…" he said turning around to face her, discarding the cup on the coffee table nearby, his arms came to circle around her, wrapping about her waist pulling her even closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck in return, eliminating the distance that had taken over their bodies since they entered her home, her fingers moving to idly play with the short hairs at his nape. He interlocked his fingers together behind her trapping her in, dropping his forehead on hers, nuzzling his nose against hers in greeting, as he spoke, "Everything's changed so much, I just wish sometimes that all of it was good, you know."

"It's going to be alright, Oliver. I hope you believe that."

"Yeah I do," he whispered, his eyes reassuring, his lips brushing against hers lightly imprinting the words on her skin. The warmth spreading through his body relaxed him as he breathed her in his eyes dropping closed, his heart and mind feeling awed at having her with him.

"I want to do this right," he stated suddenly, breaking the peace surrounding the space around them.

"I know, I do too," Felicity replied, her lips pulled up in a smile.

"I should probably go," Oliver said reluctantly, even as he stood still, making no move to act on his words.

"You don't have to…"

"I won't say I want to," Oliver interjected, not wanting her to continue her thought process, "because I really do want to, but if I stay any longer I don't know what I'll do."

"I have an idea," Felicity stated smiling once again.

"Really? What?" he asked confusedly gazing at her. A quiet giggle escaped her as she watched a frown spread across his forehead, the confusion taking over his eyes. Bringing her lips to his ears she whispered huskily, "It's quite simple really," she bit lightly at his earlobe, her voice having dropped another octave, "You sleep and I sleep; we get up in the morning and go to work," she finished quickly, a melodious giggle escaping her at the dumbfounded look on Oliver's face.

"Felicity, I can't…" he started breaking out of his daze as his protests fell on deaf ears.

"Oh psshh," Felicity dismissed the next words with a wave of her hand, "Of course you can, Oliver. You have stayed here before remember?"

"That was different…"

"I know, I know. But if you think that I'm going to let you drive back home alone only a couple hours after you have been poisoned and almost died on a metal table," she continued, her index finger poking into his chest right above his heart to emphasize her point, "you are so mistaken mister. You are staying, and it's final. Either you take the couch that you barely fit in or you come upstairs with me, and we can stay in my bed all snuggled up and warm until morning when we have to get back to the real world and separate. But you're not going to your place tonight. I told you I would take care of you and this is me doing that."

"I can't…"

"Of course you can."

"Why are you being so difficult?"

Felicity snorted, "I'm not the one being difficult here, you are, I'm just being practical. We don't know if the poison can still mess with your senses…" she stated matter of factly. "A few hours ago you had blurry vision, were stumbling around like a drunk and couldn't hold your body weight. I'm sorry that you don't take this as seriously as I do but I won't be taking such a big risk with your life."

"I'll call a cab…"

"Wow you are really adamant on not staying here aren't you?" she huffed, her lips dipping into a pout, her arms coming to cross in front of her, bumping into his chest as she untangled them from around his neck.

"Uhh…"

"Don't worry I won't take advantage of you." Felicity winked, changing tactics.

Oliver chuckled pulling her closer, her arms automatically returning to their place encircling his neck, as their bodies entwined into each other. His forehead coming to rest at her temple, his lips tickling the edge of her ears, taking a page out of her book he lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper sending shivers down Felicity's body, as he spoke "The thing is Felicity, I can't promise the same." Her breath stuck in her throat, her eyes closing tight as her body clenched involuntarily trying to control the tingles running down the length of her spine down to her toes.

"You can still stay, just sleep on the bed and I'll sleep on the couch," she replied, determined to not let him out of her sight for the night. Sighing in reply, he tightened his hold on her as he started to walk them backwards, his feet guiding hers he replied dejectedly "I told you I can't…I want to, so damn much Felicity, but I can't. I want to do this right. I won't lose you, I can't lose you…"

"You won't…"

"You say that now, but wait until I do something stupid…"

"You always do something stupid..." Felicity teased, lightening the mood considerably.

"Yes that I do. But this, this I am going to do smartly. I am going to take you out on dates, with dinner and wine, and coffee and lunch, ply you with gifts…"

"Can you still afford that?" Felicity interrupted cheekily.

"Shhh…I am not done," Oliver chided playfully, a smile pulled at his lips as he placed a fore finger on hers. "I want to make you laugh Felicity," he continued his tone turning serious, the playfulness replaced with sincerity. "I want to get to know everything that there is to know about you and I want you to know everything about me. I want to take you out for ice cream and maybe a movie, cheesily wrap my arm around your shoulders in the middle of the movie, I want to bring you back home and kiss you good night. When I…we have done that, then…then I will take you to bed. Do you understand?"

Felicity nodded back dumbly, her eyes glassy in thought, her arms tight around his neck as she fought to gain control over her runaway emotions. Standing on the tips of her toes she brought him closer her lips pulled into a smile she brushed them against his, reveling in the shiver that ran down her body with the chaste kiss.

* * *

"Nice hairstyle," Felicity called out of the shadows, her eyes landing on the slowly approaching red and black clad figure.

"Thanks I just got it done. I love it, don't you," Thea replied in a false enthusiastic voice, her body turning towards the spot where the voice rung out from. "By the way," she continued mockingly, folding her arms in front of her, coming to a stop as she finally spotted the petite Talia standing a few feet away from her, her posture relaxed and at ease, "where do you get your nails done? I must say they are really good, I couldn't stop eyeing them last night during our fight."

Smirking under the protection of her veil, Felicity spoke, her gloved hand gesturing at the young girl, "I didn't think you would come, Thea."

"I was curious," she shrugged. "Now, tell me why did you call me here because I'm sure it wasn't to compliment my fashion choices," she stated gesturing towards her straight brunette hair that now fell to right under her chin in a bob.

"Thea…I," Felicity hesitated and paused, searching for the right words.

"That's a terrific start, really I applaud you," The brunette snarked impatiently." I mean I get the whole silent talk thing that some people have and can understand but I would appreciate it if you put some more words into your sentence. After the chilling speech Malcolm gave me last night I actually expected better, in fact I expected something…_epic_. Honestly, I don't see what the whole fuss is about you. "

"I'm not here to blow your mind away with my skills as a warrior…"

"Warrior? You mean assassin right?"

"I have never killed anyone…" Felicity replied, a bit flustered at the younger girls interruption.

"An assassin who's never killed anyone, that's…impressive," the younger girl deadpanned, her eyes mocking and conveying her disappointment.

"I told you I'm _not_ an assassin…"

"You're not a warrior either."

"_Thea_ I'm not here to argue the logistics of what I call myself. I just…"

"You just what?" Thea roared, her impatience at the older woman growing with every second, bursting inside her, burning her through as she fought for control.

"I wanted to speak with you…"

"Really about what? The weather? Not a really good topic seeing as the weather's really dreary at the moment nothing great about it. Or is it about what you were saying in that building? Because you should know that I don't really care about what you think or what you think you know."

Felicity sighed irritatedly, pinching the bridge of her nose her fingers brushing against the soft fabric of her black veil. She stood there on the dark concrete roof top of one of many sky scrapers of Starling, the cold air whipping around her, bellowing her coat about her legs, the crescent moon casting it's light upon her weapons, dressed as Talia Al Ghul, but in manner and heart she was Felicity, the friend, the lover, the caretaker, and the teammate, her eyes glinting with a warmth that her alter ego sometimes lacked.

"Why a rooftop anyways?…" Thea asked suddenly, "I really don't understand the inclinations that you vigilantes and assassins have with rooftops."

"It's safer from prying eyes and ears and also a good vantage point according to a mutual friend," Felicity replied, her eyes darting away to look into the distance, the docks of Starling City clearly visible from her perch. Exhaling a heavy breath she returned her gaze upon the brunette, "What did he say?" she asked quietly.

"What did who say?"

"What did Malcolm tell you about me?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"It may determine if you would trust me or not, or even if you would listen to me. So what did he say to you about me?" Felicity pressed.

"You know, the basics;" Thea shrugged disinterestedly, "Talia is ruthless, Talia is deadly, Talia is this, Talia is that, la-di-da-da," Thea finished waving her hands around maddeningly. Taking a couple of steps towards her, head tilted to the side in interest, she asked, "So…is it true what he says about you or are you just some exaggerated legend?"

Huffing, Felicity directed and annoyed glare at the younger girl, noticing the exaggerated eye roll and crossed arms that made her look like a whiny teenager. Years of wearing a mask had given her an experience that few had had the advantage of, making Felicity instantly aware that of the role Thea was playing, hiding her true emotions and questions behind a mask of nonchalance and teenage disinterest.

"All you need to know about me Thea is that a) I am not and never was a killer. I may have been a lot of things, ruthless, deadly and all that that Malcolm may have told you but I haven't killed anyone ever and I don't plan to, unless of course there is no other choice and even then I will search and search for options. And b) that I called you here today as a friend of your brothers…"

"Great!" Thea exclaimed suddenly, her hands flying in the air, palms up, incredulously, "Turns out you're another one of his bimbo's, just when I was beginning to admire you too."

"I'm _not_ his bimbo…" Felicity fired, offended. "Whatever our relationship may _be_, I am first and foremost his friend, always have been. And I'm here because I care about you just as much as I care about your brother."

"Really? Tell me how much is it that you care about my brother?"

"More than you'll probably ever know. I am here Thea, because I thought I could talk to you, listen to you and try to get you off this self-destructive path you have set yourself on…"

"It's not self-destructive if I'm as strong as I am now."

"It really is especially with a mentor like Merlyn," Felicity gritted out, her voice spitting venom at the man's name.

"And what do _you _know about Malcolm as a mentor?"

"I know about Malcolm as a person in whole. And the person that he is would never make a good mentor, at least not the honorable kind."

"Honor doesn't matter in real life, _strength_ does."

"And that wording is precisely why I believe Malcolm is not fit to teach you how to be a warrior."

"Why does it matter, especially when I am stronger and quicker than before, no more the weak, emotional Thea but a powerful and independent woman? And why do _you_ care?"

"I told you I care about you just as your brother does. By doing what you're…"

"If he cared about me he wouldn't have lied to me. Do you know about that? About how he kept secrets about my life from me, how he lied to me…"

"He didn't do it to hurt you..."

"And yet he did." Thea interrupted, her tone final as she once again took a step forward, her body held rigidly and arms still crossed in front of her, anger coursed through her veins setting them on fire making her eyes blaze hot.

"There was a time when I was angry too, Thea. I know how it is to be angry at your family, to doubt your identity," passion seeped into Felicity's tone as she tried once again to reach the girl's heart, "to doubt everything about yourself and being angry about it, I also know how that affected the decisions I made. How it led me into believing in something that wasn't me, which would have destroyed me and it almost did…"

"Do not pretend to know what I went through…"

"I don't pretend. You may have gone through different tragedies, but tragedies are still tragedies, disappointing family is just that, disappointing family but the family that loves you as much as your brother does is something very hard to come by, at least in my world. You are _lucky_ that you have a brother like Oliver…"

"Lucky? There is nothing lucky about the family I was dealt. What about my family seems lucky to you?"

"Are you _that_ blind Thea," her voice rose an octave, irritation and disbelief seeping into her words, her steps advancing towards the younger girl till they were standing toe to toe, furiously Felicity continued, her eyes blazing as hard as the younger girls, "that you can't see what you're doing to the people around you, to those who love you and more importantly to _yourself_."

"I did _not_ come here for a self help lecture!"

"Did you think I was calling you for a rematch on a pre-fight written note? No. _You _came here because you thought you were going to get an out…"

"An out from _what_? A life that I actually have control over?" Thea laughed, the cackles echoing in the silent night.

Felicity laughed with her, the sound humorless effectively conveying her disbelief to the brunette girl. Directing cold hard eyes, a trait she inherited from her father, the blues completely dissolved in the black of her pupils shining with pity at Thea, Felicity spoke, her lips pulled up in a condescending smirk, "If you think you have any control over this life you have chosen you are not as smart as I perceived you to be."

Reading the pity reflected in her cold dark eyes Thea stumbled a step backwards, startled at the intensity of it, her teeth gritted against each other as she snarled, "_What_ do you _mean_?" anger taking over her body at the tone the woman had directed at her.

"Malcolm controls each and everything you do, don't you see it…"

"He doesn't!"

"Who told you to fight the Arrow, to kill him? Who tol…"

"Shut up! Shut up! You don't understand…you can never understand…" her voice a hoarse whisper, bleeding anguish echoed around the two girls, startling them into silence.

"Did you know," Felicity began in a whisper, careful not to scare the younger girl into consciousness, "that I ran away from my mom's when I was twelve and traveled all the way to Egypt alone, to find my father? Did Malcolm tell you I was kidnapped a month after my reunion with my father, mentally tortured and rescued _two _weeks later, did he?" Thea's head jerked up at the revelation, eyes widening, understanding dawning on her features, the anger evaporating away for the moment as she listened to the woman before her reveal parts of her past that she shouldn't have to, not for a stranger.

"Did you know that my mother _hated_ me and that her boyfriend of the month was a pervert who almost raped me and my mother never did anything?" Felicity looked to her, tears shining in her eyes, never falling, her voice raised as she continued, her address to the younger girl becoming fiercer, her fiery voice starting to ring around them even though it was nothing more than a whisper against the harsh wind still whipping around them, blowing her veil and coat with it but never displacing them, "No, you didn't. _Everyone_ goes through problems in life Thea, it's how life teaches us to be strong, to be fighters and you have been nothing but strong through all of these problems all your life, then what changed Thea? What changed?"

"My _identity_," Thea whispered brokenly, her throat clogged with unshed tears, eyes downcast looking away, hiding the agony the revelation brought with it, deep into her soul, into her very being.

"Did Oliver ever tell you that you weren't his sister?" Felicity asked stepping towards her once again, no malice but comfort in her movements. Her head ducked down in an effort to catch the younger girls eye.

"No," Thea replied, her forehead creased, eyes squinting at the concrete below her feet as she answered the woman's question.

"Did your mother ever love you less because of who your father was?" she asked again.

"No."

"Did your father ever see or treat you as someone else's daughter and not his?

"No."

"Well, there you go. Identity is a superficial concept. It only matters if you associate identity with name and blood. You doubt your identity as a _Queen_ because you aren't Robert Queen's daughter. Tell me how much did your mother make up the Queen name? Aren't you a Queen more by your spirit and heart than blood?"

"Big words," Thea scoffed, stepping away from the daughter of the demon, her eyes meeting hers once again, now just as cold and dark as the young warriors had been a few moments ago, her voice devoid of any emotion, she continued, her eyes holding the other woman's in a grip, "But those words never helped me. All my family did was keep secrets from me, _lie_ to me…"

"Which family doesn't…"

"I'm done with this!" Thea roared, emotion rushing back into her being as she stomped away to the edge of the roof. Stepping onto the ledge she looked back once, her voice though affected by the conversation still held an edge of steel, her challenge clear as she stated in a hard voice, "Tell the Arrow that I'm not done with him. I'll have my battle, I'll defeat him and I'll rejoice as he lays defeated on the ground, my foot _pressed_ into his neck as he begs me for life."

"Then you should know too," Felicity replied, her voice holding a hint of a warning, her stance convalescing to that of a warrior, her back straight, posture strong, arms held straight at her sides, fists clenched and eyes just as hard, she spoke, "I'll be there with him, fighting alongside him and our team and I will stop you no matter how I have to do it. There is no way we'll let you take him away from us, from his family, from this city. I will not let you destroy the one hope that this city holds and I will do anything to protect it, to protect _him_."


	5. Chapter 5

The click clack of heels against the marble flooring attracts his attention, his eyes breaking from their vigil against the white door he saw his friend disappear three hours ago. His eyes move up the shapely legs, watching the porcelain skin gleam against the harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital, past the plum colored office dress she had on in the morning to her similarly colored lips. He notices a slight frown marring her beautiful face, crinkling her eyes on the sides, pulling down her normally smiling mouth, and creasing her eyebrows. A smile stretches across his face as he picks himself up from the uncomfortable metal chairs to greet the rushing blond, noticing her lips move. Words are tumbling out of her mouth as she comes to a stop in front of him, her hands gesturing frantically as she continues to talk, words rushing out of her a mile a minute, "Sorry I'm late…I was in the middle of something and got caught up. How's Lyla? Is she in labor yet? Oh wait, how's Diggle doing? Is he ok? He didn't vomit or faint, right? And where is he? Speaking of which where is Roy? And Sara? She's coming too right? I mean she has to…oh and what did the doct…"

"Fe-li-city," Oliver interrupted, emphasizing the syllables in her name as he placed both his hands on her shoulders, giving her a slight tug to break her out of her ramble and get her attention, he finally spoke, an amused but fond lilt to his voice, "Lyla is fine and already in labor, Diggle's there in with her. He freaked out for a minute before he rushed out and got to her and no he didn't vomit or faint. As for Roy and Sara, well Roy volunteered to keep an eye on things tonight and Sara offered to stay as backup. So they probably won't be here for the birth but they'll come to visit when they're done for the night."

"Oh ok," Felicity said gulping in air, a smile finally lighting up her features, she launched herself into Oliver's arms, squealing, "Digg's baby's coming!"

"Yeah yeah he is" Oliver exclaimed chuckling with her, his delight at the impending arrival of the new addition to their family apparent through the smile adorning his stubbled jaw that refuses to dim. He picks her up a little his joy leaking out in the presence of her, her toes lifting off of the marbled floor a small squeak leaves her mouth in surprise, feeling glad that he didn't swing her around in the bustling ward.

He disentangles their bodies his hand moving up to cup her cheeks, his bowing down when she stops him. His forehead creases in confusion at the anxious expression on Felicity's face. She hesitates before exhaling a breath to calm herself, and speaks, "I…there's something I need to tell you…"

"Ok…Felicity you know you can tell me anything."

"Yeah," Felicity nods, her eyes locking onto his she continues, "Yeah, I know I can. Ummm…it's about Thea…" Oliver stiffens at the mention of his baby sister, his eyes turning somber as he drops his hand from her face and leans against the wall behind him clutching onto the hand of the woman standing before him. His grip hard and unforgiving as he attempts to control his raging emotions and tether himself to the present, regrets and past mistakes wash over him unrelentingly, knocking off his equilibrium.

"I met her…"

"When?" Oliver asks her confusedly.

"Just now…that's where I was when the call came and that's why I couldn't pick up…'

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because…well first of all, I didn't think she would come. And I thought if she did she might not want to talk to you, so I thought I should try, you know. Try to get through to her…and it almost worked too…Oliver I…" Felicity continued trying to explain.

"Hey Felicity," Oliver interrupted tightening his grip just a bit to attract her attention, he soothed, "it's ok. I get it…I don't understand yet but I get it. And thank you for doing this you know…"

"Of course, always Oliver," she smiled. Threading her fingers through his she tugged, making him focus his eyes back to hers from where it had strayed down to their joined hands, a small content smile gracing his lips, the emotional onslaught of before pushed away for the time being locked in a box only to be opened when the time came for it to be unleashed. "Roy was right the first time Oliver. She's different whether we want to accept or not, she is. Not dark but not as light as she was before either. There's anger in her and its eating her up. She almost listened to me you know she agreed with me, she's still there but not completely. We need to be careful when it comes to her you know. How we approach her, what we say to her everything...we need to be really careful…"

"Felicity what happened?"

"She's hell bent on killing you," Oliver's sharp intake of breath had her reeling back her words, "Not you exactly, I meant the Arrow side of you. She doesn't think you have wronged her but in her eyes you are standing between her and her victory. She wants to prove herself, especially to Malcolm and she'll do anything to win…"

"Felicity I'll be fine…"

"It's not you I'm worried about I know you can take care of yourself. But Oliver she can't. She thinks she can but she's taken one bad decision after another and think about how it will affect her if she succeeds and finds out that she killed her own brother. It'll break her Oliver, it will completely destroy her."

"Hey, shh shh," Oliver soothed his hands making their way up to her shoulder blades, calming her, as her breaths regulated the panic subsiding for the moment Oliver cupped her cheeks once again, his head bowed and came to rest a few inches away from her face, his blue eyes gazing into hers he spoke, his voice down to a soothing whisper, hoarser than usual with the weight of the emotions bubbling inside him, every emotion fighting for dominance the regret fighting with hope, anger with peace, grief with happiness and the hate fighting with love, "it's alright…everything will be alright isn't that what you say. Nothing will happen to Thea or me, I do happen to have the best team support after all," Oliver smiled softly at her.

The answering smile in return purging all conflicts within him he bent down, his mouth dropping open to put in whispered words the peace, happiness and love he felt then for the woman in front of him, his lips a mere inch away from hers before they closed the distance. The background hustle of the hospital dimmed to a bass as they lost themselves in a world of their own making, the smell, sound, taste and touch of each other taking over their senses. The soft caress coming to an end with the clearing of a throat beside them, breaking them out of their daze as they disentangled themselves to look at their intruder, the displeased scowl disappearing from Oliver's face when he noticed the happy face of his friend standing before then a grin so powerful stretched across his face that it held the danger of breaking his face into two. Slipping his arms from the blushing form of his love he crossed the small distance to their friend in one long stride, dragging Felicity with him, her hand grasped tightly in his larger one.

"It's a boy!" Diggle announced happily, his arms falling open to accommodate the squealing blonde shrieking her congratulations into his chest, squeezing her arms around his waist in a gesture of love and happiness. Oliver stood beside his partners a grin only slightly smaller than the new father's adorning his face, a feeling of contentment taking over him as he waited his turn to congratulate his friend.

* * *

The laughter that rang from the corner booth attracted the attention of the rest of the patrons of the small quiet restaurant, the late nighters at the bar looking to the corner, their eyes landing on two blond heads, a man that sat facing the door, a big smile lighting up his face as he looked to his laughing companion secretly priding in himself for getting such a reaction out of the bubbly blonde. It felt a long time to Oliver Queen since he had made someone laugh, truly from the depth of their hearts and the bottom of their belly.

Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak sat in a corner Chinese Restaurant and bar, the red lighting of the narrow space reflecting off of their faces as they waited for their order, the plum of her dress clashing ridiculously against the garish lighting. They sat hands held above the table as they came of the high of the night, the new addition to their family making them dizzy with happiness. All their problems and set aside for the night the couple had come in for a late dinner, choosing to spend the rest of the day together instead of away from each other eager to bask in the blessings the day had bestowed upon them. A look into Thea's psyche and an exciting new member to their family, lifting off the weight they held on their shoulders for the day.

"Did you really do that?" Felicity asked gaping at the man across from her.

"I really did do that unfortunately…"

"Oh my god," Felicity exclaimed giggling, "I can't believe this and the press or your mother never got a sliver of that story?"

"Hey we swore we would never tell anyone, I think there even was blood pact somewhere in there…" Oliver then backtracked with his hands raised palms up as he clarified, "totally Tommy's idea."

"But you did it…"

"Hey I was drunk!"

"Yeah yeah party boy, whatever," Felicity dismissed away his mock incredulous excuse in a hand wave a giggle escaping her at the end of her sentence. The server arrived with their order and as they dived into the steaming plates of Lo Mein and Kung Pao Chicken the lighter parts of their pasts came unraveled, their mischief's and misdeeds served as small talk and laughter at the others' stories of antics as music.

"So…"

"So…" Oliver reiterated, his smile refusing to slip even a little as he walked out of the restaurant Felicity's hand held firmly in his.

"It's been some day hasn't it?"

"Well yours has been I have just had one exciting thing happen to me today…"

"Just one?"

"Well apart from what you told me yeah just one, although I have a feeling it maybe the best one yet."

"I feel so too."

"So…how does it feel becoming a godmother?"

"I am sure it feels the same as becoming a godfather…"

"Ecstatic?"

"Unbelievably so."

* * *

**3 weeks later**

Oliver sat on the metal table near Felicity's station his face tired, eyes downcast and half lidded. He felt defeated his insides were curling up on each other as he loosened his tie from around his neck, the top button already undone. His crisp blue suit felt constricting as a defeated sigh left his lips. The past three weeks had been uplifting, he hadn't felt this happy and light in a long time and deep inside him he had known it wouldn't last long, but now faced with the reality of the same he couldn't bear the weight that had settled on his shoulders, sagging them under the weight, since his meeting in the afternoon.

At the sound of heavy leather boots hitting the metal of the stairs behind him drifts his attention away from the depths of his mind, turning his head he spots Diggle, a relaxed and content smile on his face as he descend the stairs, his shoulders held strong with happiness, his steps light and sure.

"Hey man, how's it going?"

"Everything's good, how's Lyla?" he asked, stepping away from the table and coming to stand in front of his friend, hands shoved in his pants pockets, lips upticked in a small smile, he asked, "And Jacob ?

"They're good, the little guy's healthy and pooping every chance he gets and makes sure we don't get a decent night's sleep. But let's talk about you. You don't look so good, man…"

"I'm fine…"

"We all know what that means," Diggle scoffed, interrupting Oliver.

"I'm fine, Digg," Oliver sighed, raking a hand through his close cropped hair, pulling the short strands at his nape before dropping it to rest beside his thigh.

"Meeting didn't go well huh?"

"Felicity called you didn't she?" he asked softly.

"She said she was called in and couldn't be here yet and I was coming in anyways, I think I have had enough of a vacation, don't you? So tell me was it really that bad? You could of course try again…"

"I could but it's starting to look like I might never win…" Oliver sighed, both his hands coming up to massage his forehead staving off a headache that seemed to be setting in suddenly, "They think the company should stay with Palmer right now, and no other investor is ready to put their money behind me, they may not be completely confident with him right now but they sure as hell don't want me at the helm," he sighed as he muttered further, "can't say I blame them though."

"That's harsh. But Oliver, just don't give up yet ok…everything will sort itself out in its own time."

Oliver snorted, disdain dripping from his action as he turned to take a step away, looking back to his friend he exclaimed, "_Really_ Diggle? My sister is out there running around with _Malcolm Merlyn_ and she's convinced I'm the villain in this story and not only that she has not _once_, not once called to talk to me and I can't call her myself because how am I supposed to know she's back in town, and also I don't even have a number to call at. And on the other hand, my family's company, my family's _legacy_ is in some _strangers_ hands and doesn't look like will ever be mine again, how am I supposed to _wait_ and watch and _pray_ for something _good_ to happen. Every time one good thing happens a thousand bad things line up to balance it out…"

"Oliver relax…do you think maybe you're overreacting?" Diggle held up a hand stopping Oliver's protest before it began, taking a deep breath he continued, "Let's just take a deep breath ok?"

Oliver released an anguished sigh, his body sagging some more as both his hands dropped to his sides unmoving, feeling the weight of the world and past mistakes and regrets settle on them, burdening them, taking away what energy they had left, his red rimmed eyes glistened with unshed tears as he raised his eyes to look into his friends with as much defiance as he could muster, "There is nothing left to do."

"Maybe there is. For now though, there is still the city to save and protect, no one can take that away from you. And we are all here for you man…"

"I know."

"Then let's go get some more bad guys off the streets shall we?" Diggle joked.

"Diggle I…"

"Come on Oliver, snap out of it _man_," Diggle ordered irritated with his friends hard headedness, "We'll find a way but for now the city needs us…"

"No it's not…that," Oliver sighed, his body stiffening as he willed himself to look his friend in the eyes.

"Ok…" Diggle trailed his arms coming to cross in front his chest, his forehead scrunching in confusion, trepidation taking over his body as he watched Oliver steel himself.

"I can't have you in the field anymore…" Oliver said his face straight, all signs of his previous anguish disappearing as he slipped on a mask.

"Damn it _Oliver_!" Diggle felt anger take over his body, his feet moving the three steps towards the man in front of him of their own accord, his folded arms coming undone as he pointed a finger at his face in anger, his voice rising an octave as he stated, "You would be dead _ten_ times over if it weren't for me."

"Dig, you need to understand…"

"No Oliver _you_ need to understand! This is as much my fight now as it is yours…"

"I know _Diggle_, for god sakes I know!" Oliver shouted out the last word, his voice hoarse as emotions rushed back out breaking the wall he had erected to shut them out, flooding him, taking his breath away as he tried to explain, "I _know_ it's your fight too. But I won't…I _can't_ see your family ever lose you. I can't have that child of yours to ever go through the pain of _losing_ his father. I can't have you out there _not_ because I think you are weak or a liability, I can't have you out there because I am _afraid_ our life will one day tear you away from your family!"

Diggle watched silenced as Oliver turned, his outburst filling him with a new energy as adrenaline coursed through his veins, the events of the day filling the man's body with anger and frustration as he dived into the glass case that held his uniform, yanking it onto his body and strapping on his quiver Oliver was out, speeding away, eager to let go of the energy buzzing under his skin.

* * *

The thug had escaped just as he rolled out onto the familiar concrete tiling of the roof. The triangular glass panel in the middle of the roof bringing back memories he had run to escape from. Sound of the metal door of the roof opening from behind him broke him from his thoughts, his body whirling arrow nocked and bow held down, ready for an attack.

"Our last encounter on this roof didn't end so well did it?" Malcolm Merlyn sneered, appearing in the doorway that he had entered through roughly two years ago, their positions now reversed. Oliver raised his bow, his eyes sparking with anger as he looked upon the smug face of his nemesis. Malcolm Merlyn stood before him, his black League uniform on but face unmasked as he directed conceited eyes at him, smile smug at catching him at his weakest moment.

"For you it didn't, for me it wasn't so bad…" Oliver countered.

Malcolm tutted as he advanced, bow held at his side, he took a step to the right interrupting Oliver, "Now, now, we both know that's not true. You failed and ran, I came back alive," Malcolm shrugged as the men circled each other.

An arrow soared through the air as Malcolm finished talking, his bow held up as he waited for the black projectile to embed itself in his opponent's heart, revenge for the arrow that he had shoved into him at this very roof. The quick motion of Malcolm's hand hadn't gone unnoticed by Oliver and he ducked away in time to avoid the arrow his own palm closing around an arrow in his quiver. Pulling it out he nocked and let go, the arrow missing its target as he stepped out of its way. Malcolm came charging at Oliver his bow held out in front of him, he pivoted as he neared Oliver, banging the side of his bow against Oliver's left cheek as he came to a stop.

Recovering from the blow instantly Oliver delivered a punch to Malcolm's face dropping the smug grin off of his face, retaliating he reared his arms back fists clenched, delivering a one two punch combo, hitting Oliver in the chest and stomach. Blocking the following punches from the older man, Oliver caught hold of one arm and twisted it turning Malcolm away from him; he grabbed his nape bending him forward as twisting his arm further back.

A snarl escaped Malcolm's mouth, extending his free arm behind he caught a hold of Oliver's palm that held his nape, dislocating his thumb from its socket he broke out of the man's grip as Oliver drank in a yell of pain. Malcolm cackled, pivoting on his toes he hit Oliver, his left foot connecting with the other man's right knee. Oliver dropped, pulling his thumb back in place he ducked, dodging Malcolm's incoming hit to the top of his head. He grabbed the dark archer around the waist flipping him over onto his back as he stood up arrow nocked pointing at the dark haired man lying on the concrete floor.

Malcolm jumped back on his feet as Oliver let loose his arrow, hitting the man in his right shoulder, a painful growl escaping his lips, the sound transforming into a mad cackle as he pulls the shaft out, his voice taking a menacing edge as he taunts, "Do you really think you can beat me?"

"I have done it before," Oliver shrugged, pivoting once on his toes and his bow held out to hit the man on the temple. Malcolm caught Oliver's wrist just as he neared his head, Oliver retaliated, his left fist connecting with the dark archers jaw, a satisfying crack echoed around the empty roof.

"Oh but I came back didn't I?" Malcolm sneered, rubbing his throbbing jaw. His fist came up as Oliver ducked, his arms banding about his knees ready to trip him when Malcolm grabbed him around the waist, flipping him, making his grip on the man's knees loosen as Oliver fell on his back. Trapping him in a choke hold, his arms in a voce grip around his throat he continued, "Its Déjà vu, except this time you don't leave this roof alive!" Malcolm exclaimed tightening his hold earning a choked grunt from Oliver, as his right arm scrambled to find purchase around his opponents head in an effort to free himself, his left arm clutching at the forearm bound around his throat choking the life out of him.

"Oh wait I forgot!" Malcolm said suddenly his voice laced with glee as he loosened his grip a little, bending to talk in Oliver's ear, "It's not really my place to kill you, it's Thea's…after all she has her eyes set on defeating you. I think I'll have to satisfy myself by killing those you hold most dear. Your very capable bodyguard, the new father…what's his name? Ahhh, Mr. John Diggle him and your little protégé, Mr. Harper, I'm going to delight in gutting them. And of course how could I forget your beloved computer expert…I hear she's quiet feisty, must be great in bed too huh?!" Malcolm taunted, growling the words in Oliver's ears as he struggled. "She'll _definitely_ get special treatment. Do you want to know what I have planned for her?" He asked contemptuously, a mad cackle once again escaping his lips at the angry roar that ripped out of Oliver's chest. Releasing his grip from the arm banded about his throat, Oliver reached back, his palms open and grabbed a hold of Malcolm under the nape and flipped him over his body, a bout of unprecedented adrenaline shooting through his veins as he slammed the older man's body on the concrete.

He stood, his legs apart, his fists clenched tight at his sides bow held in one as he looked down upon his nemesis, his body heaving in anger, he reared his left foot back and slammed it into the fallen man's side. Panting he knelt on one knee getting in the wheezing man's face he spoke in a quiet growl, "Do you remember what I said to you the last time we were on this roof top? I thanked you for teaching me _what_ I'm fighting for…but _now_ I have more than that, now I have _something_ to _live_ for," he finished rising back on his feet, his bow coming down to slam against his temple, knocking the archer out.

* * *

The steady staccato of typing echoed around the basement as fingers hit the plastic at lightning speed mixing in seamlessly with the clang of metal and the sounds of sparring, the thud sounding from the entrance brought it all to a complete halt as a thud sounded from the entrance. The shocked occupants of the underground hideaway rushed in tandem to the body that lay in a heap on the cold floor of the lair clad in green leather, his bow held tight in a fist. Oliver was panting but conscious when the team reached his side, grabbing John's proffered hand he hauled himself up, his body sagging in exhaustion, the bruises forming around torso throbbing and his legs hurting from the fall he had taken.

Dragging himself, his team trailing behind him, he propped himself up on the metal gurney in the medical area clutching his side as his ribs protested the sudden movement. Felicity busied herself helping him get his quiver off working the closure on the leather belt as Diggle readied supplies, Roy hovering in the background ready to help if needed, Sara watching in from the sidelines.

"So who's responsible?" Diggle asked lightly, now busy taping his bruised ribs as Felicity stood watching alongside Sara, chewing on her thumbnail, her worried eyes fixed on the

"Ran into Malcolm…" Oliver grunted out.

"What!" Felicity exclaimed, bolting ahead to stand beside Oliver once again, her hands roaming over his bruised face and torso she continued "Are you alright? Wait…bad question I can already see you are not…"

"You should see the other guy…" Oliver shrugged attempting to wipe the worried frown off of Felicity's face.

"Seriously?" Felicity questioned displeased.

"He threatened all of you, I couldn't hold back," Oliver replied.

"Oliver that's not what I…"

"So you called Lance and asked him to pick the scumbag up, didn't you?" Roy interrupted Felicity his voice hopeful as he stepped forward his hands busy fidgeting with his t-shirt, impatience oozing off of his form as he waited for Oliver's answer.

"No."

"What? Why?" Roy roared, stomping the two steps to close the distance between him and the older man. His hands tightened into fists at his side and jaw clenched, he gritted out, "So you let him go?"

"Yes," Oliver nodded once tightly.

"Why would you do that?" Roy exclaimed angrily.

"Because we need him to reach out to Thea…"

"And he's going to let you? Have you forgotten how well this strategy of yours worked last time? Last time you let Slade go for the same reason and it worked against us!"

"This time it's different…"

"How?" Roy interrupted, anger and disbelief coursed through his veins, his eyes conveying his displeasure to the rest of the team.

"Roy, just have patience…"

"That's what you said last time…"

"I'll tell you when the time is right," Oliver bit out feeling irritated.

"Just like you were going to tell me that I did more than just sleep last year after you rescued me from Slade?" Roy bellowed, angry tears slipping down his cheeks, his eyes jumping from one team member to another, assessing and analyzing the blank faces of the occupants of the hideout.

"What…what...how…" Felicity choked out finally, the silence getting to her nerves. She stared wide eyed at the young boy, her heart beating erratically inside her chest.

"What you didn't think I would ever find out that you were lying to me?" Roy spat out, stepping closer to Oliver as the man stepped down from the gurney, a grunt at the movement escaping his lips as he focused on the enraging young man before him. "I stood by you," he pointed to Oliver, his index finger poking him in the chest, "I came back and you let that mad man steal her away…and now, now when you had the chance to capture him, to kill him once and for all, you let him go!"

"No one stole Thea, Roy and you're right we should never have lied to you. We should have told you the truth but we were afraid that you won't be able to hold the weight of the truth, that you would drown under it, it was our mistake to think that you couldn't handle this and we're sorry," Oliver's voice softened with every word, his apology belting out in a soft whisper. "But Thea," he continued just as softly, "she left on her own terms no one stole her, kidnapped her or dragged her away. And that is exactly how she's coming back," Oliver stated his voice strengthening, directing stern eyes at the shorter man. "We can't bring her back kicking and screaming, it won't work…she is not a child anymore."

"Maybe you should tell yourself that!" Roy gritted out turning about and storming out of the silent lair, his gym bag in tow.

* * *

**5 days later**

Her keys jingle as she pries one out of the keyhole of her door stepping in the warmth of her little brownstone home she sheds her pea coat, hanging it on the rack beside the entrance, her purse joining it. Her keys landed in the bowl she kept on the rack table, toeing of her three inch heels on the way in. The small hairs on the nape of her neck tingled alerting her to the presence of another in her seemingly deserted home, bringing her feet to a sudden halt.

With quiet assured steps she advanced, her training her biggest weapon as she readied herself for a fight, her eyes alert as they moved around the interior of her living room, ears perked up for any sound that may give away the location of her intruder. She was startled when a deep voice rumbled from her office chair, it's back to her, " **كيف****حالك****يا****حبيبي؟**(How are you Darling?)"

" **والد؟** (Father?)"

Ra's Al Ghul turned, his face relaxed, he got up from the chair his arms wide and inviting, enveloping the petite form of his daughter as she crashed into him. "**يا****حبيبي****انها****جيدة****جدا****لرؤيتك****مرة****أخرى**(Oh my darling it's so good to see you again.)"

" **أنت****أيضا****الأب****. ****لقد****غاب****لك****والنيصي**(You too father. I have missed you and Nyssa.)"

"**ثم****لماذا****تركتم****ذلك****قريبا** (Then why did you leave so soon?)," he whispered into his daughters blonde hair, "**هل****يمكن****أن****أقاموا****فترة****أطول،****والسبب****الوحيد****الذي****تسمح****لك****ترك****هو****لأنك****أصر**(You could have stayed longer, the only reason I let you leave is because you insisted.)"

"**تعرف****مكاني****هنا،****الأب****. **(You _know_ my place is here, father), Felicity insisted. "**كان****علي****أن****أعود،****أرجو****أن****تفهم**(I had to come back, I hope you understand.)"

"**بالطبع****أنا****أقوم****تاليا،****بالطبع****أفعل** (Of course I do my Talia, of course I do.)"

"**حتى****يقول****لي****الأب** (So tell me father)," Felicity said disentangling herself from his arms, her eyes meeting the shadow blue of his, " **ماذا****تفعلين****هنا؟** (What _are_ you doing here?)"

" **أنا****هنا****لرؤية****أصغر****بلدي،****غير****أن****ذلك****خطأ؟**(I am here to see my youngest, is that so wrong?)"

"**بالطبع****لا،****انها****بخير****تماما**(Of course not, it's perfectly alright)," she smiles waving a hand away, resting her palms back on her father's shoulder and leaning away a little she narrows her eyes playfully at the taller man for a moment, her lips still pulled up in a smile that reflects in her eyes she speaks, her voice loving, "**أحبك****وأثق****بك****ولكن****أعرف****أيضا****لك****. ****أنت****لست****هنا****بالنسبة****لي****ولكن****لل،****ليست****لك؟**(I love you and trust you, but I also know you. You are not here for me but for Merlyn, aren't you?)"

Ra's sighs his head hanging down for a moment before directing fond eyes to his youngest, a rare smile stretches across the older man's face as he cups his daughter's cheek and place a soft chaste kiss to her forehead, bringing her back into the safety of his wide arms, "**أنت****تعرفني****جيدا****ملاكي****الصغير**(You know me very well my little angel.)"

Felicity laughs lightly into her father's chest, a flood of memories attacking her as tears pool in her eyes, "**هل****لي****أن****لا****يسمى****منذ****أن****كان****في****الثالثة****عشرة** (You haven't called me that since I was thirteen)," she says sniffling.

"**لا****لم****أفعل****. ****أعتقد****أنك****قد****ألقيت****مناسبا،****وعبس****ورفضت****التحدث****معي****حتى****توقفت****يدعوك****ملاكي****الصغير** (No I haven't. I believe you had thrown a fit, pouted and refused to speak to me until I stopped calling you my little angel)," Ra's chuckled lightly at the memory of a thirteen year old Talia pouting, giving him the silent treatment at being called a childish nickname. Leaning away from her he cupped her cheeks, her arms still banded about his waist, he looked down at her apologetically, "**وأنا****آسف****أنني****كذبت****عليك****يا****حبيبي****. ****أنت****لا****تستطيع****أن****تعرف****لماذا****كنت****هنا** (and I'm sorry that I lied to you my darling. You couldn't know why I was here.)"

"**هل****نسيت****أنا****ابنتك؟** (Did you forget I'm your daughter?)" Felicity asked teasingly.

"**أبدا** (Never.)"

"**لأقول****لك****الحقيقة** (To tell you the truth)," Felicity asked, her curiosity peeking with every word as she focused on her father, "**أنا****مندهش****أنها****اتخذت****لك****هذا****وقتا****طويلا****ليأتي****إلى****زرزور،****كنت****أتوقع****كنت****هنا****قبل****أسابيع****بحثا****عنه** (I am surprised that it has taken you this long to come to Starling, I had expected you here weeks ago hunting for him)," the man in question turned his face away at the inquiry, disentangling himself and walking a few steps away, his fingers skimmed the titles on her bookshelf as he moved to the end of the shelf divider.

"**كان****لي****بعض****الأعمال****لحضور****ل** (I had some business to attend to)," he said not looking at her.

"**الأب،****نحن****فقط****أنشأت****أنه****من****غير****المجدي****بالنسبة****لك****لمحاولة****تكذب****لي** (Father, we just established that it's futile for you to try to lie to me.)"

"**...****تاليا**(Talia…)," He started looking over his shoulder, his eyes guarded as he waited for words to come to him.

"**... ****هناك****شيء****آخر****أليس****كذلك؟****لم****يتغير****شيء****التي****جلبت****لكم****هنا**(There is something else isn't it? Something's changed that brought you here…)"

His back straightened as he turned, his eyes hard not giving away anything as he looked upon his daughter, her determined stance contrasting against his rigid one. He moved another step away, his eyes remaining focused on his daughters, the shadow blue of his eyes darkening as they drained of all emotions, his soul sauntering away to hide in the dark recesses of his heart. Felicity raised a hand the moment she noticed her father start to speak, speaking over him, "**كل****ما****أريده****هو****وعد****منك** (All I want is a promise from you)," she spoke, her feet moving forward she came to stand in front of her father, toe to toe, looking into his eyes she continued, "**وعد****أنك****لن****يجلب****أي****ضرر****على****زملائي****في****الفريق****أو****هذه****المدينة****في****أي****حال** (a promise that you won't bring any harm to my team or this city in anyway)," she demanded. "**وهي****الطفل****الذي****يمر****في****مرحلة****الخام****وأريدك****أن****وعد****انها****لن****تتضرر****في****مطاردة****للحصول****مجنون****.****وأنك****لن****تدخر****ثيا** (And that you will spare Thea. She is a child who is going through a rough phase and I want you to promise that she will not be hurt in your hunt for a madman)"

"**أعدك** (I promise)," Ra's nodded slightly. "**ليس****لدي****تجارية****مع****الفتاة،****وقالت****انها****لا****تزال****بريئة****ولكن****أنا****لن****أعد****بأي****شيء****حول**** Merlyn** (I have no business with the young girl, she is still innocent but I won't promise anything concerning Merlyn.)"

"**لن****أطلب****منكم****أن****والد** (I won't ask that of you, father)," Felicity replied. "**ولكن****يجب****أن****نعرف****أن****والد،****فريقي****وأنا،****ونحن****سوف****تتبع****له****كذلك** (But you should know father, that my team and I, we will be pursuing him as well)," Felicity said determinedly, her voice as hard as her father's, "**وانه****سوف****يذهب****إلى****السجن****إذا****لم****ننجح****في****فراش****الموت**(and he will be going to prison if we succeed not the deathbed.)"

"**ليس****من****العدل****أن****يصبح****القاتل****للتكفير****عن****الذنوب****وقتل****المئات****من****الأبرياء****وكنت****ترفض****السماح****له****إلى****العدالة؟** (He killed hundreds of innocents and you refuse to let him be brought to justice?)" Ra's suddenly roared, exasperated by his daughter's insistence on not killing, even a man as repulsive as Malcolm Merlyn. "**كنت****تعتقد** (You think)," he started, his voice hard as he growled in a low timbre, desperate for his daughter to understand, "**أن****باب****الحديد****والصلب****يمكن****أن****تعقد****في****رجل****مثل**** Merlyn?** (that a door of iron and steel can hold in a man like Merlyn?)"

"**...****والد** (Father…)"

"**كنت****بقدر****ما****هو****جزء****من****الجامعة****وأنا،****أنت****تعرف****أن****السجن****غير****مهيأة****لعقد****واحد****منا****فقط****لأنها****سوف****تفشل****في****عقد**** Merlyn** (You are as much a part of the League as I am, you know that a prison is ill-equipped to hold one of us just as it will fail to hold Merlyn.)"

"**ليس****من****العدل****أن****يصبح****القاتل****للتكفير****عن****خطايا****أخرى** (It isn't justice to become a killer to atone for the sins of another), Felicity gritted out. " **!****وسوف****نجد****طريقةلاعتقاله****ولكن****لن****أسمح****فريقي****لتصبح****القتلة****لرجل****مثله**(We will find a way to hold him but I won't allow my team to become murderers for a man like him!)"

* * *

**My amazing Beta Mathlover15 ( ) had a suggestion and through her encouragement I have been able to write a prequel to HoBH and DoB, it's called Temple of Blood. This story chronicles Felicity's life with her family the Al Ghul's and her path to becoming Talia Al Ghul. Oliver and the team will not be showing up in it. If you're interested go on over to my profile ( ) or the Series tag (AO3) and give it a go. Until next time =)**


	6. Chapter 6

"Oliver there's reports of a disturbance down near QC."

"I'm on it! Roy, back me up…"

"On my way," Roy grunted, his modified voice ringing out around the dark night as he brought down his opponent with a single swing of his bow, the hard metal connecting with the man's jaw eliciting a painful scream from him as he collapsed falling in a heap on the damp concrete under him.

"Talk to me Felicity!" Oliver pants out parkouring through the city roofs, having foregone his bike to rush ahead to the address that was not too far away from his current location, his arms and legs carrying him effortlessly forward, his body absorbing the force of his landings as he jumped from one roof to another.

"It seems to be a group fight, the police scanner is buzzing madly…probably a few executives who had a few too many," she quips at the end. The tapping of fingers at lightning speed fills his ears as Felicity searches the city grids, her eyes flying over her monitors in time with the real time footage now streaming from CCTV's and traffic cameras around the area on the multiple screens in front of her. Satellite images pop up as she continues, "It seems intense I'm zooming in now…maybe we can get a hit off of facial recognition."

"Roy where are you?"

"Fifteen minutes away…"

"Make it ten!"

"Oliver! Stop!" Felicity exclaims suddenly bringing a halt to Oliver's quick gait in the middle of a low roof.

"What? Why? Felicity what's going on?"

"It's….It's my father. My father and the League…it looks like there's a sword fight in play and whoever it is he's fighting is losing badly" Felicity replies, her fingers tapping incessantly over the keyboard trying to get a look at her father's opponents face "…wait it's not just someone…it's Malcom Merlyn!"

"Is Thea with him?" Oliver asks picking up his pace again, jumping from the roof he was on to the alleyway below crossing the street and latching onto a nearby escape to make his way to a roof.

"Yes Oliver she's there and it looks like she's in trouble too, you need to hurry…you aren't too far anyways…take the next right and go straight along the 10th, another right and you'll be there."

"What about me?" Roy asks, his voice muffled from behind his helmet.

"Take the left ahead of you and another left, there's an alley there that leads straight to QC. As soon as you cross it take a right and you'll be there."

"Got it!"

"Keep talking Felicity…what's happening?"

"Malcolm is losing, epically…but it's Thea I'm worried about…"

"Why? What's happening?"

"She's holding her own for now but it doesn't seem like it would last long. She needs you Oliver."

"I'm there."

"I see you," Felicity whispered back watching as the green leather clad figure of Oliver jumped into the middle of the ring his bow held up, arrow at the ready, his commanding voice reverberating in the empty parking lot, the office bees long returned to the sanctity of their homes, bringing a halt to all those surrounding the fighting figures of her father and Malcolm Merlyn as he focused on Thea and her opponent who was now effortlessly overpowering her. The sound of metal against metal rang around the silent night, the men battling with swords, dancing around each other. Her eyes danced between the fighting duo of her father and Merlyn and watched as Oliver intervened in the other, his elbow connecting hard with the back of the man's head disorienting Thea's opponent long enough for her to knock the man out with an uppercut.

His bow up arrow nocked and aimed Oliver turned, his eyes landing on Ra's and Merlyn. He watched frozen, fascinated to a degree as Ra's struck his nemesis, drawing blood from the side of Merlyn's face, a part of his ear falling at the leaders feet. Stepping on the flesh Ra's' face took on a devilish sneer, pivoting he slashed his sword at his traitor's leg, the sound of flesh ripping apart at his actions delighting him further as he felt the metal hitting bone. Drawing his sword back he let his anger at the actions of the man before him take over his body thrusting the blade through Malcolm Merlyn's side, an animalistic growl escaping the confines of his chest in victory.

Thea's angry wail mixed in harshly with Ra's shout of victory finally thawing Oliver out of his stupor, his legs working he stepped in to interfere before his sister could, his arrow at the ready he bellowed, "Stop right now!"

The chilling laughter that Ra's directed towards him sent shivers down Felicity's spine as the sound echoed through the speakers in the silent and empty basement lair. "You little boy, you dare to command me!" Ra's cackled in his deep voice, his followers joined him in his guffaws as they watched Malcolm Merlyn struggle to stay up on his two feet.

"No I don't. All I'm asking is for you to stop this madness, if not for anyone else then for your daughter."

"How dare you?" Ra's growled, all hints of his previous glee vanishing, cold unadulterated anger reflecting in his eyes as his face turned impassive, "Just because she believes in you and your crusade," he started, his voice gravelly and low, "doesn't give you the right to ask anything of me in the name of my daughter, Arrow. One day soon, she will realize what a waste you are. She will see that you are _nothing_ but a coward, a man nothing more than a mask, nothing _more_ than the crusade he so clings to and that day, that day she will _finally_ give up the romantic notions she has built around you. You are no hero Arrow! And what's more? You are no man either!"

The larger man's words resonated inside him knocking the air out of his lungs, awakening his insecurities, his biggest fears once again from where they had laid rest, from where he had buried them seven feet deep never to see the light of day again, but just like his past they came crawling back out, the call of the assassin's words too strong for them to resist.

"Oliver…" Felicity whispered, her voice shaking lightly "Would you please pass the comm. to my father?"

"Fe…"

"Please Oliver, now."

Clearing his throat Oliver dropped his arm his bow held low, morphing his features into and impassive wall not unlike the man before him, he watched lips pursed a smirk grow on Ra's Al Ghul's face, obviously assuming victory. The confusion that he saw taking over the other man's face as he handed his Bluetooth to him was more comforting than he thought possible.

"Father," his daughter's voice rang out in Ra's' ears, "I want you to come meet me, Oliver will bring you here," Felicity spoke, her voice emotionless unwilling to give away the true nature of the state of her heart, to let the searing pain she had felt at her father's words show.

"Talia…"

"Father, please."

His eyes turned up to meet the masked eyes of the man he knew his daughter to be in love with, a slight nod his only indication that he will do as asked, knowing his daughter was watching. His insides burned in anger realizing that his daughter may yet again choose this man over him. His bloodied weapon held firmly in his hands he stepped into the Arrow's face, his expression murderous placing Oliver's Bluetooth back in his open palms he growled, "You are the reason he slipped away yet again Arrow," his eyes diverted a moment to where Merlyn had stood not a moment ago directing the green hooded man's gaze along with him, "and the day he hurts more innocent lives," Ra's continued looking back into Oliver's eyes, his expression icy, "I will rejoice, as the hurt that he causes from this day onward will be on your shoulders and your shoulders alone."

He stepped away once again, his gaze sweeping over Starling City's resident hero, "Your _insistence_ on being righteous has done nothing but hurt and I look forward to the day that it destroys you. Now take me to my daughter."

* * *

"Oliver!" Felicity exclaimed as she rushed up to him stopping just a breath away, her hands rising to caress his cheek as she gazed into his eyes, gauging and analyzing, knowing her father's words affected him more than he let show.

"Hey I'm ok," he replied quietly, his hands moving up to clutch onto hers, returning her gaze with a determined one of his own.

"Yeah we'll see about that," She replied with an unimpressed look, her frown disappearing as she looked behind him, her hands still holding his face between her palms, "but for now…" she stepped away, her hands falling to cross below her breasts as she turned her body and glared unflinchingly at the imposing figure of her father, his company of eight standing sentry behind him, "**والد**(Father)."

"**بلدي****تاليا**(My Talia)" Ra's stepped forward into the cold basement, his arms open and lips spread in a thin smile to greet his youngest. Felicity though stood stock still, lips pursed, arms folded, and her eyes narrowed further as she regarded the man in front of her.

"What were you thinking?" She bit out with gritted teeth after a moment of uncomfortable silence as Ra's dropped his arms.

"Talia?"

"You could have seriously hurt Thea…"

"I wasn't…"

"But your man was!" Felicity exclaimed, her arms flying up in the air in a gesture of exasperation.

"I don't think I will ever get over the sight of Felicity berating the great and terrifying Ra's Al Ghul," Roy muttered from the corner of the lair to a smirking Diggle at his side, earning himself a snigger in confirmation from the former soldier.

"Talia my dear…"

"Father, you promised me. You promised me that you won't hurt Thea in your hunt for Malcolm Merlyn…"

"Things happen, you know that. Anyways it was the girl who entered the fight, we were just answering," Ra's waved it away, irritated.

"Couldn't you or your men have answered in a more mellowed way? She almost got killed!"

"You're overreacting my dear…"

"No father, overreacting would have been me cleaning off any and every bank account and disbanding any business that you and the League own. But me trying to talk to you is _not _overreacting," Felicity exclaimed stepping into her father's space, her fingers ascending to pinch the bridge of her nose as she attempts calm herself down. "You know very well by now why I really left all those years ago," she starts once again in a softer voice, her eyes loosing the anger they once held replaced by a sense of sadness, "I never agreed with your methods, your mission. You may have always wanted to save the world but your methods to do so never settled well with me but father what I have always admired the most about you is your insistence to never hurt an innocent no matter what the situation. _Thea _is innocent, she hasn't hurt or killed anyone in cold blood nor will she, and today a member of the League broke your one and most important rule, and you are telling me things happen? Isn't that exactly why you're hunting Malcolm Merlyn down?!"

"If that is what you're concerned about, no need my darling," Ra's replied, his posture relaxing, his hands finding themselves perched on his daughters shoulders squeezing softly in reassurance, "I will punish him. He and the others were explicitly ordered not to hurt the girl but only distract her if she engages…"

"No, I'll do it," Felicity replies suddenly, her eyes turning hard preparing to stare down her father.

"Talia…"

"Who _was_ it?

"Felicity…" Oliver steps towards her, surprised by her sudden declaration, a frown creasing his forehead as he tried to make sense of what was going on in the blonde IT genius's head.

"Father…"

"Kyle, Kyle Abbot," Ra's sighs out.

"Hmm," Felicity walks around her father, the man's arms falling to his sides, he turns to watch his daughter's progress with interested. Ignoring the disbelieving looks being sent by her teammates, Felicity calls her voice hard just as her father had once taught her, "Mr. Abbot, would you follow me please?"

* * *

The sound of heavy panting rang through the empty house, the small imperceptible grunts of pain he couldn't hold back, too not masked well as the large man lay on his side, his blood weaving its way through the fine threads of the intricately carved red Persian rug under him. Delicate hands worked on him, stitching up the bloody mess his side, face and leg looked to be.

"We should really be going to the hospital for this. What if something important was nicked or…or cut. You could be bleeding on the inside and I won't be able to do anything about it!" The young girl exclaimed frantically, her hands shivering minutely as she worked the needle through the flesh of the man, pulling the thread taut before looping it around once again.

"I'm fine," Malcolm grunted out impatiently.

"How can you tell, you can't even see this!" Thea spoke irritated.

"Actually I already did…"

"And what makes you sure that what you saw is how it is, without MRI's, X-rays and whatever the doctors do in such situations? How do you not have a doctor on your payroll for these kinds of things? You have people for everything else!"

"I do. But he's…away. On business."

"What business?" Thea gritted out bitterly finishing stitching up his leg and moving up to his side.

"Thea would you just…"

"Yeah, yeah...sorry _dad_," Thea snarked. "By the way you should know I believe strongly that you will be limping for the _rest_ of your life."

* * *

"So what did you do?" Roy rushed to her side eagerly his voice quiet searching for answers.

"What do you mean?" Felicity asked nonchalantly.

"The Kyle guy. He never came back in with you. What did you do to him?"

"Oh him! Well…" Felicity stalled drawing out the last word as she cut a straight line back to the safety of her chair in front of her computers.

"Oh come on…tell me, what did you do? Did you hang him upside down from somewhere and beat him until he begged you to stop, or did you…"

"Roy," Felicity interrupted amusedly before he could continue, "Should I be worried about this violent streak of yours?"

"Oh come on, tell me please," he nearly whined.

"You really want to know," Felicity said her voice serious.

"Yes I do."

"All of us do," Oliver joined in Diggle and Sara by his side, he looked questioningly at Felicity, his arms hanging by his sides as he came closer and stood beside her chair.

"What do you think I did Oliver?"

"Honestly I'm surprised you even offered, so I'm not sure what to expect, all I know it isn't all Roy is making it up to be."

"And you Mr. Queen would be right in thinking so. If you really want to know…"

"Yes…Yes we do. Now please spill," Roy interrupted impatiently, his eagerness dripping from every pore of his body.

"I gave him my shopping list," Felicity shrugged turning back to her computers.

"What?!" Roy exclaimed in incredulity, bringing a sudden halt to Felicity's renewed tapping against her keyboard, she turned her chair around once again to see Roy looking at her disbelievingly while Oliver, Diggle and Sara stood shaking their heads in fond amusement. "You did what? You gave him your shopping list? Are you serious right now?" Roy continued his voice raising an octave higher with each word.

"Yep that's what I did," Felicity smiled blindingly at the young man tilting her head at him as she challenged him silently to continue.

"And your dad doesn't have a problem with that?" Roy asked his incredulity not abating even a little.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him…where is he and his band of merrymen anyways? I was gone for maybe five minutes…"

"Yeah what's with that? You should have been back long before you did if all you gave him for punishment is your shopping list?" Roy grumbled.

"I had to maintain a front…and it's not _just_ a shopping list. It's the ultimate torture device for men."

"Right…" Roy drew out the word, his tone belying his skepticism.

"Do you know how fierce of a man Kyle Abbot is? Some even think he is immortal because of his uncanny ability to come out alive out of any and every situation, no matter what injuries he's sustained, he always survives. And he's fiercely loyal, one of the reasons he is so important to my father. They even call him 'The Demons Hound'. How embarrassing and frustrating do you think it is for a man like that to go buy tampons for his leaders' daughter. _And_ if I hadn't intervened my father might have done something worse. Not kill him, he's too important for that but I realized as I was speaking that to right the wrong that my father believes he committed by breaking his promise to me because of my words to him he might take drastic measures that may not result well for Kyle. And I didn't want that."

Silence reigns around the foundry as the quartet around her ponder her words, only broken a few minutes later when Ra's reenters, his entourage a step behind him.

"I just came to say goodbye," Ra's says walking towards Felicity, encompassing her in his large arms as she stands to meet him, "I hope to meet you later for dinner my dear, how does tomorrow sound?"

"Actually I was hoping I could talk to you about something?" Felicity asked pulling away to look at her father.

"Of course we can, how about tomorrow night, my dear?"

"Father, now. I need to talk to you now."

Ra's smiles shaking his head at his daughter's stubbornness. Nodding in ascent he steps sideways gesturing for her to walk ahead out of the lair. "No father, here," Felicity asserts.

"Talia…"

"I want you to work with Oliver and our team to find Merlyn," Felicity interrupts, rushing to get her words out before she could lose her courage.

"What?!" Oliver hisses from behind her just as Ra's' expression turns emotionless, his eyes betraying his anger.

"You nee…"

"No!" Both men growl out at the same time, their voices holding a hint of danger, their anger directed at each other instead of the petite blonde in front them.

"Just think about it. You want Malcolm and Oliver wants his sister back," Felicity pleaded. "You both can be of great help to each other."

"That is if you assume that I agree to work with your father," Oliver fumes, his body rigid and fists clenched as he continues to stare directly at Ra's.

"You saw what happened today Oliver," Felicity clutches onto his arm, directing his attention to her before continuing, "by working with my father you can assure Thea's safety."

"Does this mean you don't trust me my darling?" Ra's questioned coolly, "No," Felicity replied, "it means I don't trust the League to not lose control once again. If I didn't trust you father, I would have had Oliver and the rest tail you since the moment you announced your presence to me. I wouldn't have believed in your promise to me and I definitely would not have invited you here. The reason I am doing this is for the peace of mind of everyone present here," she continued passionately. "And the next time you go out hunting Merlyn, Oliver or Roy will be on your tail to ensure Thea's safety and I wouldn't blame them. With no cooperation on both sides it may get ugly. What if it leads to Malcolm slipping away again, with Thea by his side?" Felicity finished turning to Oliver. "That is exactly why I believe partnering for this one mission is in everyone's best interests."

"I need some air," Oliver stated suddenly disappearing through the door above leaving his team and the League behind.

* * *

His body revered at the feel of the cool night air rushing past it as he parkoured his way through Starling City's roofs, landing on familiar surroundings he came to a halt. His heart beating that much faster as his brain recognized the concrete roof as home. Looking around the neglected surroundings of Verdant he dragged in a deep breath, his eyes closing as he let himself relax, the tension he had held in all night only intensifying after Felicity's proposal to work with her father finally seeping out of his pores. The sense of being home bringing a strange calm over his body and his senses.

Sounds of silent sobbing brought his senses back putting his body on high alert, his eyes flew open, bow held up and arrow ready he tip toed to the side gazing briefly from behind a beam, taking notice of a petite figure dressed in red and black. The woman stood in a slouch, her head bowed her bobbed hair covering her face.

"Thea?" Oliver choked, recognizing the figure balanced against the roof ledge. The woman's head snapped up at the sound of her name, her body instinctively taking up a fighting stance as she noticed who had called her.

"What are you doing here?"

"I can ask you the same thing," Thea snarked back, her voice heavy with emotion.

"Thea…" He paused, his eyes tracking the tear tracks over the girl's cheeks, "are you ok?"

Huffing in frustration Thea turned, not in the mood to fight. Watching his sister walk away ready to jump off the ledge to another location, his feet moved forward feeling desperation take over his body unable to watch his sister walk away from him once again. "Speedy…" he called, his words breaking as emotion clogged his throat.

He watched her pause mid step, her back straightening posture tightening, her voice a low emotional whisper she asked, "How…?"

"Speedy please look at me," Oliver begged, his throat clogged he watched with unshed tears his sister turn to look at him, her face hard and emotionless, her eyes the only giveaway to the depth of her emotions. Looking Thea in the eye he removed his hood, the woman's breath catching in her chest as she watched the man in front of her unveil himself, her heart begging for what her brain was telling her to not be true. Closing his eyes he removed his mask, the final confirmation that Thea's brain had won the battle this time, a stilted sob left her mouth as her hands covered it, blocking it from letting escape anymore exclamations of her emotions for the world to see. Her eyes filling yet again with tears she watched her brother clad in green leather approach her, his steps cautious he stopped a few steps away from her.

"Speedy…"

"Stop calling me that! You have lied to me all this time!"

"I promise no more secrets, no more lies Speedy. Just please listen to me, don't leave," Oliver pleaded with his sister, tears escaping his eyes as he watched his sister look at him with distrust in her eyes.

"How do I know you won't just lie to me again? Isn't that what you have done since you've been back?"

"I promise! I won't ever lie to you again just please come back!"

"No…no…" Thea started to step away backwards her body switching into defense mode as she worked on digesting all that had been revealed to her. It was Oliver's broken exclamation that stopped her from running away to find solace back in the home of her biological father, "I wasn't always on the island the five years I was away…"

"What?"

"I was rescued but I couldn't get away. My captors took me to Hong Kong…"

"Who else knows this?"

"Felicity…"

"You told your secretary but not me!"

"You know very well she isn't and will never be just my employee. She's my best friend, my partner, and my everything." His voice dropped octaves as he recounted everything that Felicity meant to him. "I couldn't hide it from her any longer. I know," He continued before Thea could interrupt, "that I have made a lot of mistakes and one of them was keeping secrets from you. When I decided to hide this side of myself from you I thought I would be protecting you from what I was, from what I had become. I wanted you to know me as the man you remembered and loved and not the cold hearted killer that had returned. I know Thea, I know that was my biggest mistake. I wasn't ready to tell you then and it wasn't because I was protecting you. I was protecting myself…when Tommy found out he called me a killer…a murderer. I…I don't think I would have survived you thinking the same of me."

"But you told her…"

"I did. I never understood until some months ago why she meant to me what she did. Why I had kept going back to her with ridiculous excuse after ridiculous excuse until I finally understood. I love you, I loved mom and I loved all those I had left behind and when I came back that hadn't changed. But Thea, for the first time, for the first time since I came back from the island it was in her office that I had felt alive, I had smiled, truly smiled. With you and mom and everyone else I felt I had to be Ollie, I thought that would be the only way from ever having you find out what happened to me because if you did, you would never look at me the same again. But something, something happened with her, for the first time in a long time I felt a burning inside me, I felt something come alive and I felt that every time I met her. I fell in love with her Thea…I don't know how or when all I know now is I did and I could not lie to her or hide anymore of myself from her.

I felt I could tell her and I wouldn't lose her or her love, that I wouldn't see the love she had for me dimming with every word I said, and I know that hurts but believe me I love you just as much but with you and the others I was afraid. Afraid I would lose you and I realized after you left that I wouldn't have lost you if I had told you the truth, and it was because of my secrets that all that has happened to us, to our family has happened. So here I am, I will tell you everything, because for the first time I'm not afraid, not afraid that I'll lose you or your love if I tell you the truth."

"Wh…"

"Just please listen to me Speedy. I promised you no more secrets and this is it. You deserve to know the truth, I know that now. Please let me make things right."

Looking into her brother's blue eyes she saw desperation, love, and the hunger to make everything right. She was tired, tired from the mess her life had turned into but desperate for everything to be right again, to be the way it was once again or as close to it as it can get. Deciding to untangle one web that her life had gotten tangled into she nodded.

"I was on Lian Yu for two years, Hong Kong for one and finally Russia for two before I decided it was time to come back home. I…I wanted to even before and I tried, Thea I tried so hard to come to you and mom and Tommy but it couldn't happen and finally when I found my way off of Hong Kong to Russia I knew it wasn't time yet…"

"You're confusing me Ollie…"

"Sorry…I," taking a deep breath Oliver continued, "When the Gambit went down…"

* * *

"Oliver!" Felicity exclaimed turning around in her chair as she saw the hero descend the metal staircases, his face downtrodden. "Where were you? I was terrified and you even switched your trackers off!" Felicity got up following Oliver around as he put his gear back in place. Wringing her hands in nervousness she continued, "It's ok if you don't want to work with my father, I was just trying to make it easier for you and him…Oliver," Felicity paused in her ramble as she heard him sigh, his expression remaining unchanged, his broken heart clearly displayed in the hazy blues of his eyes, "and that is not what you're upset about is it?"

Turning around to face her he shook his head, his walls finally breaking down bringing him to his knees in front of the woman he loves. Grabbing at her waist he finally let his tears fall, his head coming to rest on her stomach he let go. Felicity's fingers carded through his hair as she saw the strongest man she had ever known breakdown, heart melting to see the love of her life so vulnerable.

* * *

The wet ground created a weird slap tip tap sound as she walked towards her Brownstown, her heels contributing to the staccato. Her hands disappeared inside her bag as she fished her keys out. The slight shadow of someone approaching put her on alert, her eyes sweeping her surroundings before whirling around.

Her eyes widened as she registered the face of the person standing before her, the young woman soaked from head to toe. Wisps of wet brunette hair stuck to her face, her red and black outfit in turn sticking to her body from the rain earlier in the night.

"Thea?" Felicity asked a confused frown replacing her surprised expression. "What are you doing here?"

"I…I.."

"Thea, are you ok?"

"Can I come in? I didn't know where else to go…"

"It was you who triggered the alarm wasn't it?" Felcity asked in reply, her voice kind. Her heart had broken to leave a distraught Oliver back in the lair sleeping alone. He had finally succumbed to exhaustion from his emotional breakdown and had fallen asleep when the alarms on her phone had come alive, indicating someone was trying to break in to her home.

She had wanted a moment to collect her own thoughts and emotions so she had left to check on the alert, making up her mind to come rushing back as soon as she had dealt with the situation. Looking at the lost expression on the young woman's face she took pity, fishing her keys out she opened her door, standing aside to let the dripping form of Thea enter first.

"Yeah sorry about that, it was raining and I thought…"

"It's alright Thea. You don't have to apologize," Felicity interrupted, stepping inside her home and shedding her coat. "Why don't I go fetch you some towels?" Felicity said, moving further inside her home eyeing the shivering form of the young girl.

"He told me…" Thea whispered bringing Felicity to a halt.

"Wha…"

"Oliver told me…he told me everything" Thea continued, tears now dripping down her cheeks, "…he told me and I ran! How could I do that? He trusted me to not run and I did!"

Finally understanding the reason behind Oliver's sudden breakdown Felicity stepped forward, her arms encasing the petite girl she helped her walk sitting her down on the couch as she cradled her head, rocking her. "I ran…" Thea sobbed, her voice a hoarse whisper as she remembered her actions, the guilt, the devastation of all she had done and said rushing back to her, breaking her. "I ran…"

* * *

**So I'm back…I apologize for the long wait but it couldn't be helped, long story short I was dragged away by family to a cousins place and after that to Udaipur for a week and a half of vacation and then got caught up in Diwali cleaning and shopping. Also a big big thank you to my beta Mathlover15 ( ) for the quick editing she did so that I could post this chapter today.**

**Kyle Abbot was formerly an agent for Ra's al Ghul. He was a high ranking officer in Ra's army, even being called "The Demon's Hound" and is a tall and muscular man who appears to be in his late twenties, but is actually over sixty years old. After al Ghul's death, Kyle remained with his mistress Whisper A'Daire as her bodyguard. He also drank the serum that empowered Whisper, but in Kyle's case, he became an immortal werewolf. He also commands a group of henchman that have similar powers. It is unknown if Kyle is able to be wounded by silver or other traditional werewolf weaknesses. He is a deadly hand to hand combatant and a dead shot with most weapons. (Information courtesy of .com).**

**In other notes, I reckon there are no more than two or three chapters left to this story.**

**Moving on…what follows is a reeaaally long rant about the last two episodes so anyone who wants to skip it you're welcome to it, no judgment. 3x01 – God, the most best freaking episode in the history of television. Alright I'm exaggerating but it was a hell of an emotional rollercoaster wasn't it?! But to say that I hated Sara's death would be a gross understatement. I was trapped in an emotional box of angst and heartache all week because of that. Loved the Olicity scenes and they will stay with me forever but Sara… In the following days I read and read reviews and reactions of the fandom and I have to agree I hate that she had to die whether it was to further the lore of the Black Canary or to further the season. I am going to miss her.**

**I also, though, have to agree with a certain reviewer, 's Jennifer Marie.. Her death was needed to further the season arc of identity and not further individual characters' arcs and nor was she dismissed as a prop character (Thank God!). So as much as I hate it since Sara was, is and will remain one of my most adored and revered female characters of television right there with Donna (Suits), Felicity, Samantha (Bewitched), Buffy and Xena, I understand. What I don't and won't accept though is the manner in which she was killed.**

**Sara's character had come far from a naïve and weak (in terms of fighting) girl, from the troubled assassin we first met in season 2 to the strong, beautiful and light woman that she was, a woman who had accepted herself as a hero and was finally seeing the light in her darkness. She deserved a hero's death, where she fought, fought for survival and for life just like she always has. Yes she was surprised by whoever it was that was on the rooftop but being the trained fighter she is I would have expected her instincts to kick in even when life was leaving her, I expected her to put up a fight and I may never get over the fact that she didn't. So no I don't hate the writers but I do believe they should have worked harder to give her the farewell she deserved. (I can't wait for the episode that is rumored to show us flashbacks of how Sara came to meet Nyssa and the League)**

**Felicity and Oliver just break my heart, I love them to bits and I'm here to stay, but that was a hell of a two episodes for them. The amount of distance that now exists between the two from where they were in episode 1 with the shameless flirting and effortless touching, the smiles and the tears and THE KISS. They never touched and rarely talked about anything but the Arrow and Thea and catching bad guys in 3x02, and I see that this is how it's going to be for most of the season.**

**What I loved most about Felicity is she was her normal strong self, never showed how Oliver's pushing her away affected her at least until she saw Sara lying there on the table, then the emotions finally burst through her, Oliver pushing her away and pulling her in the last two seasons, the date, the kiss, the I love you (reversed or otherwise) and him pushing her away again choosing the Arrow over her and himself as stated by jbuffyangel ( post/100139403193/olicity-3x02-choose-life-or-death) and she finally let it all out, refusing to exist in status quo she walked away no matter how much it hurt, she stood up for herself and I admire her for that. Not to say that it didn't break my heart but I get it, it takes a strong woman to do that and Felicity is that.**

**Can't wait for the rest of the season, we are in for a hell of a ride and I couldn't be happier but I must say I can handle the angst on the show but the angsty fanfics get to me *Screening Mode Activated*.**

**I think we should be celebrating this brand of angst on the show with happy fics because I can understand angst at the end of 2x13 but not 3x01. They did everything but shout from the rooftops that Oliver and Felicity are endgame, its cause for happiness (except for Sara's death), we should be celebrating with teeth rotting fluffy and happy fics.**


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